When is it too late to learn

So we went to hear Grayson Perry at the BM talking about his take on drawing. And very interesting it was too. After his lecture, he took questions from the audience, one of which was “I am 35, is it too late to be an artist?”
To my surprise, Perry said “Yes it is”, or in so many words at least. He said it takes years to develop a style, and the confidence necessary to be a successful artist, that it was tough, that you needed to start young. I felt rather sorry for the questioner. I don’t think that was what she was hoping to hear. Is it true? If you want to make something of your life, do you have to land upon the exact thing when you are still in your teens? I’m posting this with a picture of the Royal Parks Half Marathon, which I ran this weekend. I only started running when I was 30, with a half marathon in Wimbledon. I’ve since done LOADS.

In the meantime, I am confident that my third child will probably never make it in the world of biology. Having first asked me ‘What did I wear when I was born?’ (she’s very into getting her clothes right), she then said “How do babies get that tube in their stomachs if they are born in a caravan?” and then, when her younger brother started laughing at her, said angrily “you know NOTHING about sex education. You don’t even know what a PELVIS is.” Hmm.