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Although almost every pensioner has more of their life behind them than in front, this is no reason to wallow in nostalgia. For a start, looking back is a sharp reminder of how bad your memory has become, while the selective nature of what you recall is almost certain to give you the impression that you’ve done nothing worth remembering anyway.
Boxes of black and white photographs, old letters, school journals, football programmes from 1963, diaries and raffia mats you made when you were seven can all be jettisoned, and the extra space so released used to accommodate several language students who will contribute to the household budget.
Looking back, in the literal sense, is just as dangerous and may cause you to walk into lamp-posts, shopping trolleys, oncoming traffic and water buffalo.