I think a fair indicator that you are aging is a growing intolerance to background noise. A busy bar or club filled with people shrieking to be heard over the pounding EDM, no longer holds the same allure it once did. A trendy restaurant where they cram you on to benches around shared tables, affording little privacy, never mind personal space, is not the place for a quiet chat about your upcoming trip to the doctors!
Over the last few years I have found myself opting to meet friends in quiet pubs, that tend not to play loud music, and when I meet family for a meal, it’s at a restaurant where you aren’t forced to share with random folk who shriek and fling their arms around with no consideration for your bottle of wine.
As with most people, my home is my sanctuary.
I live in a flat above an office, which is occupied by my landlords. All the people who work there are older than me. There’s one full-time lady, small, skinny and of indeterminate age, two much older women, I’m guessing mid 60’s, who appear to job share, and the owner, a man in his 70’s.
That’s all very interesting Hannah, but why are you telling us all this?
Well, you’d think that people of that age and build wouldn’t charge around like a heard of elephants. They are SO noisy – CRASH, BANG, STOMP, SLAM, CRASH – making the floors tremble and the door frames shudder with the vibrations. Then there’s the thumping bass reverberating through the walls from the barbers next door, the rumbling from the buses lingering at the bus stop outside, the planes roaring overhead drowning out the birdsong and the almost continual sirens blaring their way to the next crisis.
It’s not a quiet place to live when all is said and done, but I do live in Croydon so a certain amount of noise is to be expected.
However the elephants downstairs, masquerading as small, slight older people, are enough to tip anyone over the edge!
Consulting Hannah 