Today, Monday March 30th 2009, I walked round the neighbourhood. It was a very pleasant spring day. The sun was warm but not too hot. I did not see any one else out enjoying the weather. I thought about the events of the day before.

Yesterday, Jensen Button, won the Formula One race in Australia. Only a few months ago, Jensen was not even sure that he would have a ride in Formula One. If any one deserved a decent car, it was Jensen. For years he has driven loyally for teams with the weaker cars. His talent has been hidden by the fact that his cars were too slow.

His determination to keep going through years of diappointment finally paid off when he gained poll position and then beat all the past world champions to come first in the Australian Grand Prix.

Jensen has been written off by many as a 29 year old has been but he did not lose faith in himself. He kept plugging away and kept driving on through the disappointments. I would love to see him win the 2009 Formula One Championaship.

He was rescued from obscurity by the great Ross Brawn who was the brains behind much of Michael Schumacher’s success at Ferrari.

Brawn has taken over the failed Honda team and now runs hiw own team Brawn GP. Richard Branson is sponsoring him. The four B’s
Barrichello (the other driver) Branson, Brawn and Button should create the A team of 2009.

Michael Owen, the England football striker, is the same age as Jensen. He, too, has been written off by some football critics. However, he is still playing in spite of a series of injuries. I hope that he, like Jensen, will prove his critics wrong and play for England again.

Don’t write yourself off too early. Who knows what you can achieve at what age. A grandmother has just shown dramatically that you should never give up hope. Her foot slipped off her car brake as she tried to put on her seat belt. She realised that she would crash into her daughter’s car in front of her if she kept going in the same direction!

She turned left and drove over a hundred foot high cliff instead! She landed unhurt with her seat belt still off. She describes how her car flew through the air before landing in some trees (a bit like Harry Potter in the ‘Chamber of Secrets’). She thought she was about to die but was not even injured!

Who knows what can happen at any age! Don’t write yourself off just yet!