Use it or lose it.

Whilst I certainly believe in that dictum, I could I suppose be justifiably accused of not practising what I preach. Actually, no, I couldn't. Not because I do practise what I preach but because I don't preach. At least, not that particular sentiment although there are probably times when people around me wish that I would just hop down off the soap box for a while.

But to get back to the point. Yes, I agree that if one doesn't use it, one stands a chance of losing it as far as physical and mental abilities are concerned. It is, of course, commonly understood that as one gets older, one's physical abilities decline. Hence the majority of professional footballers being over the hill well before they are forty. I suppose the joints of a person's body could be compared to a hinge: if the hinge is never used it will probably seize up. The same goes for our joints, so, as we get older it is all the more important to keep our joints supple and well-oiled - and that's not a euphemism for being drunk, although now I come to think of it, a couple of glasses of red wine each day are supposed to be good for one in some way or other. So I accept that I should be exercising my body, but I don't. I don't play any sports or swim or jog: all I do is take a gentle stroll with the dog a couple of times a day.

What I fail to do with my physical body, I do try to do with my mental faculties as I have an absolute horror of ending up with dementia. Not that mental exercise necessarily keeps dementia at bay, as has been proven by a good friend of mine. He regularly completed the Telegraph cryptic crossword as well as a number of other mental exercises, but he now only just recognises his wife and hasn't spoken for weeks. Despite that example, I do try to complete a couple of sudoku puzzles every day and I try to make time to attempt the Telegraph crossword every day - and this is where I get to my hidden agenda in this blog.

Yesterday I could not find the time to even start the crossword although I did glance at one clue. It somehow leapt off the page at me because it mentioned the state where one of my good friends lives, California. The answer was an 7-letter word and the clue (remember, this was a cryptic crossword) was "Sacramento, a dump in California".

I'll leave you to think about that and maybe I'll put you out of your misery tomorrow.