Thanks for the compliment - that's the only lift I want!

It was one of those sort of pieces designed to encourage catty comebacks, and it certainly has done! All sorts of miaows are now flying around, musing that I have "had work done", that my smile is suspiciously taut (Aaargh!) and that I now have fewer wrinkles and crow's feet than a decade ago.

There's also the nuance that anyone who has given in to the vanity of having a gastric band operation (such a vanity, wanting to beat a recurring weight problem and be healthy...) is therefore highly likely to have taken the next step to Hell - a facelift or even Botox!

Well, no, I haven't. Not a bit of it. But I reserve my right to do so should I ever feel I need to.

Hopefully, if I carry on getting such backhanded compliments, I won't feel the need for a very long time!

By the way, if you want to keep young, start singing. Here's how....

You can sing yourself happy at the BBC Radio Berkshire Choir, just by going along any Wednesday or Thursday at 7.30pm. The choir meets at The Open Learning Centre in Bracknell on Wednesdays, and at The Methodist Church in Wokingham on Thursdays. Why not give it a try?!