By Nigella Lawson turned 60 yesterday (6th January) and she's written an impassioned piece calling for us all to celebrate the joy of getting older.
Writing in The Sunday Times Style, the TV chef and former Red cover star explained that she has "never liked birthdays" and has often found a way to busy herself. But this year she refuses to ignore her 60th for two reasons.
Firstly, she says, to rally against the shame we're supposed to feel about getting older.
"Something I have always fought fiercely to resist", she writes. And secondly because her mother never made it to 60, sadly passing away at 48. "There's a lot to be said for giving thanks for getting older when you know what the alternative is," she says.
While Lawson didn't reveal exactly how she was planning to spend her birthday, she did say she no longer feels the pressure to fill her time entertaining or keeping up with a big group of friends. Instead, she prefers alone time and the company of close friends. She also commented on how with age also comes wisdom about youth.
"I do have to say that getting older is so much easier than being young," she admitted. "The two great enemies of happiness are self-consciousness and pressure to conform, and the older one gets, the easier it is to throw off those shackles."
Happy birthday Nigella!
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