According to comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell, there are a handful of basic stories and myths that are repeated throughout all cultures. Having never actually bothered to read him, we're not too sure what these stories are, but we'd have a good stab that one of them reads something along the lines of middle aged man wakes up one day to realise he's more than the odd pound over his fighting weight and running for the bus nearly necessitates an oxygen tent. A recent recruit to these ranks is journalist Neil Lyndon. His account of his personal battle, called Going Down Fighting, can be found every fortnight in the Financial Times. You can also find his first two columns on their web site athttp://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/articles.html?id=010526000717 http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/articles.html?id=010609000887