Dear LPG, 

I was looking around the internet the other day when I found a piece of information which suggested that for the fitter fitness-fanatics among us, one way to vary an exercise routine is to reverse it.  The information was designed for people who are generally a bit younger and fitter than us pensioners, and suggested that walking or even running backwards might not be a bad thing, but it got me thinking about travelling backwards in general.  I even found the story of a man who climbed a mountain with his back facing it all the way up to the top, but reading about all that was as far as my interest went.  I have no intention of trying it!

I am far too old for all that now, but it got me thinking about what happens when I move backwards.  I still travel on trains regularly and I have to say that I get quite disappointed when I cannot find a forward-facing seat. I don’t suffer from motion sickness but, even though I have become one of those people who have got used to watching a film when on a long journey, I still feel a bit odd when I hear the next station announced, disconnect from the story, look through the window and remember that I am going the wrong way. 

If you drive, or ever used to, have you ever been at the traffic lights in a car when the car in the lane next to you edges forward and you notice through the corner of your eye, with the result that you think that you are slowly reversing? Apparently it has a lot to do with your ears which not only help you to hear but are in charge of your balance and orientation as well. 

In contrast, as we get older walking forward can be quite hazardous let alone backwards, so I would avoid trying any sort of walking unless you are sure you can see where you are going.

On the other hand, I thoroughly recommend looking and thinking back without any physical movement involved. Reminiscing is a pastime that brings those memories to the surface and recording them, on paper, with a tape recorder or on film is a way of keeping them alive for the generations that we have produced as we have travelled through this life.      

When you get started on some of your stories you will be surprised at just how much detail you remember as you go along and, if video calling is still a part of how you communicate with grandchildren these days, those memories will give you something else to talk about.

I have taken to making little films on my phone, with my son’s help, and just listening to myself  talking about bits of my history makes me smile.  So I strongly  suggest that we oldies avoid too much physical backwards activity and concentrate on recording those backwards experiences instead. 

RM, Forest Hill.

Just like RM says, LPG feels the need to warn our readers that walking backwards comes under the ‘please don’t try this at home, or anywhere else, unless you know exactly what you are doing’ category of any new exercise mentioned on our pages…

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.. and, perhaps some suggestions about going backwards with our minds; an exercise that is much more appropriate for us oldies, …

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