The Nifty Fifty

‘WHILE DJ Tony Blair books his ticket to Ibiza, he might like to wonder why he is already out of the running in one popular vote.

‘Call me Tony’

The Independent has seen the runners - and, thanks to the wonders of Viagra, possibly riders as well - in Saga Magazine’s bid to find the 50 wisest over-50s in the UK today.

“There is no doubt about the popularity of this kind of survey,” says a spokeswoman for the magazine, “but they always seem only to recognise factors such as money or sex appeal.

“Wisdom isn’t just about being smart, it is also about experience. We are looking for those with a mixture of brilliance and application.”

Clearly Tony would have topped any poll where the criteria were raw sexual magnetism and wealth. But he’s nowhere on this poll. And neither is Keith Richards.

Tony’s pride at being mentioned in the same breath as his fellow axe-man of rock will be a little dented when he learns that Gordon Brown is on the list, along with fellow politicos Tony Benn and Lord Saatchi.

The Independent goes as far as to say that the list has delivered a “calculated snub” to Tony Blair.

But if true, our Tony surely cares not a jot. It’s water off a duck’s back to him. Only the truly vain and populist would be bothered about not making the list. Eh, Tony…’

Posted: 14th, January 2004 | In: Broadsheets Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink