SILENCING THE VOICES IN MY HEAD Part one

Eyebrows were raised to the ex-hairline and there was much tut-tutting among our friends as they inspected the double bed neatly made up in the back of the JUCY Cabana station wagon and the little kitchen tucked into the rear of the vehicle.

“You’re a bit old for this sort of thing,” they guffawed, shaking their heads in disbelief. “And besides, it’s far too late in the season to be camping – you’ll freeze to death.

“Stay on here with us – play golf, go fishing and e-biking … sensible, age-appropriate activities. Or at least check in to a hotel along the way,” they said.

That’s all it took to galvanise the stubborn in me and harden my resolve to defy ‘age-ism’ and ‘sensible-ism’, throw caution to the non-existent wind and be daring – some might say reckless.

After all, we were only heading for a brief sortie to the Catlins, not a month trekking overland in Outer Mongolia, so there was always the option of a hotel or motel if the weather