There are 11 million pensioners in Britain. Soon, there will be 12 million. For each of us, the realisation of ageing is a shock. And as a society, we can be judged by the way we treat our oldest members. So how do we measure up?

THIS EXCERPT is taken from a work of literature set in the tropics.

"Liberty's a glorious feast" wrote Robert Burns. Well, tonight, at least, Revolution's a glorious cabaret. Highlight of today's Cheltenham Literary Festivities, The Revolution Cabaret brings together Tom Paulin, Tariq Ali, Valerie Grove and the luscious Lisa St Aubin de Tern, who'll be reading out their favourite revolutionary words with comic politicos the Stroud Football Poets. Expect Laurie Lee, Thomas Paine, John Dryden and George Orwell, South American folk songs, waving banners and passionate shrieks of no pasarn. Probably your only chance to hear Milton's Paradise Lost accompanied by the soaring trumpets and infectious timbales of a Cuban salsa band.

WHAT'S the difference between a Russian optimist, a Russian pessimist and a Russian realist? The optimist is learning German, the pessimist is learning Chinese and the realist is learning how to shoot a Kalashnikov.

Jonathan Swift by Victoria Glendinning Hutchinson pounds 20

We should not judge George Orwell too harshly, says Geoffrey Wheatcroft ; he was more right than wrong

Political Notes

`We describe 1984 as Orwellian not Blairite'

PUBLISHING a book on tape and on radio but not in print may look gimmicky. But in the case of Tom Wolfe's Ambush at Fort Bragg - now available on the BBC Radio Collection, as well as being the current Late Book on Radio 4 - it seems like a rather good idea. Since its message is all about the way that television distorts modern society, it makes sense to try and put the message across to an audience less likely to sit down and read. And anyway, Wolfe's prose is perfect radio material - so lucid, bland and effortless that you can carry on with useful jobs like checking your bank statements and tackling those stubborn stains on the crockery without losing the thread.

The creatures outside looked from pig to man and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.

There are three new laugh-free comedies to choose from this week.

Against:

Huge, melancholy, unfilmable: that's Anthony Powell's 'A Dance to the Music of Time'. Only, it starts on the box this week. David Runciman reports

A SCIENTIFIC ROMANCE by Ronald Wright Anchor pounds 9.99