KAREN Stephen's article in the Bolton Evening News on February 19, regarding the OAPs' shopping habits in Marks & Spencer, left me reeling! Even if it was written "tongue in cheek", I still found it very offensive.

The senior citizens have as much right as you do to shop where and when they wish. It is one of the perks of being retired, especially after a lifetime of working and being ruled by the clock!

If they choose to eat "paste" sandwiches, perhaps this is because they got a taste for it during the war when there was nothing else, with the strict rationing they endured.

If a half-hour lunch break presents a problem for you, may I suggest you do what many others do and take a packed lunch to work with you. No time, you may reply! I share with you my own experience of making not only a packed lunch for myself, but also a prepared lunch with instructions for my elderly, confused mother whom I cared for, as well as having a more than full-time job as a Macmillan Nurse in a hospice. The secret is to be more organised -- a trick I learned during my training as a nurse at a very strict school of nursing.

I wonder whether you have ever been involved with the fight for sexual equality, or even racial equality -- both issues which appear to catch people's interest? Perhaps there should be a similar interest in age equality, as "ageism" appears to be on the increase.

The full lives which people can and do live after retirement is quite amazing. They contribute in many ways to society through voluntary organisations and further education -- and usually this is recognised.

Not all senior citizens live apparently selfish lives, and if they do, why not, when perhaps they deserve it!

Marion Aspinall

Beech Close

Bradshaw

Bolton