I have reached the age my father was when I first heard him described as ‘old’. What can I say? Except it’s better than the alternative
Of all the things to find triggering, T-shirts are a funny one. I mean the T-shirts bearing daft or clever – clever-dick? – slogans, maxims, aphorisms, puns and so on. You know the kind of thing: I might be wrong (but it’s highly unlikely); Football is my second favourite F word; Right wing. Left wing. Chicken wing. Etc. You see, I had a beautiful, troubled friend, my age, from Birmingham, who died too young. He had countless T-shirts of this kind, but his were always really good – annoyingly so. I said they made him look a smartarse. He said he didn’t mind because he was a bit of a smartarse. Now, whenever I see a T-shirt like that, I ask myself if it’s good enough for Guy to have worn. I’ve heard it said that people can have trouble recalling the faces of loved ones they have lost. I don’t have that problem with Guy; I see his face most days. But for some reason I can’t remember what was on any of his T-shirts. Odd that.
Today, I find myself doubly triggered by a T-shirt, an ad for which popped up on my social media. This one brings another loved one into the picture – my dad. It reads: “It’s weird being the same age as old people.” Ain’t that the truth? This garment would have made it to Guy’s wardrobe, no question.
Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist
