'I'm Even Fond Of My Baggy Elbows'

Mimi Spencer on why her midlife body is so liberating

- Mimi Spencer

“That,” says my teenage daughter, pulling gently the baggy skin of my elbow, “is your wenis!”

“My what?”

“Your wenis, Mum. It’s not an anatomical term exactly. More a slang word for that bit you’ve got right there.”

I google it. She’s right. Good Lord! Without a jot of notice, I have gone baggy at the wenis. I was absolutely expecting Muffin and Bingo, those twin blights of life that descend on the waist and upper arms in middle age (though these days part of me thinks they sound more like a nice day out). But it turns out that there’s more, so much more: as your fiftieth year approaches, countless changes – subtle, undeniable – creep up on you, like ivy growing over a window.