"Life begins at 40" is a phrase I rarely hear these days. The optimitic part of me thinks that's because people now live longer, making 40 seem much too young to consider doing anything stamped with the words "middle" and "aged." More likely is that most of my friends are now well past 40 and we have an unwitting collective pact to pretend we're not.
However, I am unashamed in my steadfast commitment to sad dadness and this approach has just reaped a surprising result.
Very few people know this (because I wanted to keep it a secret) but, during lockdown, I took up a new hobby. DJ-ing.
My nephew, Nathan, moved to New Zealand in January 2020 - just weeks before borders closed around the world. Prior to leaving Belfast for Auckland, he had already built a successful part-time career as a DJ, performing under the name Gammy. He even had a track played on Radio 1. He has continued to achieve on the other side of world, adding the new persona of Fluid Haunts to his reportire at festivals across his adopted country.
He has done all of this with new equipment, having chosen not to take his old kit with him. So I borrowed it. They say practice makes perfect but, when it comes to my DJ-ing, I wouldn't pretend to be in that cateory. But I have become better than I ever thought possible.
That has led to me playing a small number of local gigs under the name Bannside Boy in homage to my beloved Coleraine Football Club, known as the Bannsiders. I've only done short 45-minute sets featuring a mash-up of dubstep, psychedelic trance and children's TV themes. And with great respect to Vanessa and the kids for their generous gifts, yesterday I received the best 51st birthday present any middle-aged apsiring DJ could ever dream of.
It's only a 20-minute set and I'm not getting paid. However, I do get free weekend tickets for the whole family and a taxi for the short journey there and back on the night of my performance. What's not to like?
Maybe life begins at 51.
