The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy.
- Helen Hayes

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
- Abraham Lincoln

A friend of a friend of erm, a friend is approaching a landmark birthday soon: the big XXXX-oh. But why is it such a 'landmark'? Because it's divisble by ten? A bit arbitrary, isn't it? But strangely birthdays have this effect on us, be it your 21st or your 70th. We take stock, we look back, get philosphical. And then we probably just carry on as normal. Or do we? Can we actually change as the result of hitting a landmark birthday?

Whether it was your 18th, your 21st, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th etc, let us know how you felt. Did reaching a certain age have a profound effect on you?

• Did reaching a certain age have a profound effect on you? Did you change? Did you suddenly start wearing cardigans? Or get a full leather biker's suit and a Harley Davidson?

• Are you approaching a 'landmark' birthday? Are you approaching it with dread? Excitement? Complete indifference?!

• What was your most memorable birthday bash? Any nice memories you'd like to share?

• As we generally live longer, the phrase 'life begins at...' seems to apply to increasingly older ages. Is there such a thing as the 'best' age?

• Do you have any general thoughts on ageing, any advice or general wistful reflections? (We love a bit of wistful reflection.) Do we get wiser, happier, more content as our desires generally become more reined in? Or is it all a bit of a struggle, a bit Samuel Beckett: 'I can't go on. I'll go on'.