WELLDERLY: Who are they?They are the new oldies, people who have reached seniority but are still as healthy and active as their juniors.

Not for them the stigma of being old and infirm - the wellderly are young at heart and able to keep up with the youngsters.

Go, granny, go!

In the past, old people acted like old people, sitting in rocking chairs, wearing slippers and false teeth, and perhaps going out to play bingo once a week. These days, old people are more likely to be found sitting in their sports cars, wearing designer shoes, flashing their expensive orthodontic work and heading out to see a Led Zep gig - or perhaps even to play a Led Zep gig.

What - no Complan?

The wellderly are unwilling to go gently into that good night - they'd much rather stick around and enjoy their golden years, spend their children's inheritance, and see their grandchildren growing up. There's many a disappointed son or daughter who's been waiting for their wellderly parents to pop their clogs, only to see them popping off for a spa weekend, a city break, or a hillwalking holiday in the Pyrenees instead.

How inconsiderate of them.

They're only practising what's come to be known as "maturialism" - using the extra time to indulge their passion for cars, clothes and holidays. Now, the marketing people are catching up with these active aged and are targeting the wellderly in their advertising campaigns.

Going for the "silver dollar", eh?

The fashion industry, for instance, has traditionally ignored the older market, but fashion houses are now tailoring their ranges to suit glamorous grannies and granddads. "Women in their 60s, 70s and 80s all want to look as fashionable and attractive as possible," says Prof Claire Lacoste Kapstein of the University of Rhode Island. "They don't want to be invisible. They are not obsolete." Prof Kapstein has started designing clothes for wellderly women, specially cut to flatter an older person's body, and made with softer fabrics to suit ageing skin.

The wellderly are taking over - looks like time for us young 'uns to retire.

We're not quite ready to be put out to pasture yet. Although the wellderly are on the rise, there are still many older people who want to party like it's 1899, but alas, no longer have the legs for it. Help is at hand, however, from elderluxe.com, which offers invaluable items such as designer canes, cookware with special handles designed to relieve arthritis, a "toilevator" which adds extra height to the toilet, and a "medication management system" that tells you when it's time to take your pills.

Try at work:

"It's all very well having wellderly staff and saving on retirement packages - but I've been waiting 20 years for a promotion."

Try at home:

"Bad news, son - that chest pain I've had was just mild indigestion from eating too much caviar."