Media comment, political debate and public attitudes tend to be negative about old age, but the facts and experience of many reveal a very different picture, says one specialist in the field of social careWhen Mary and Joseph Collins sat in the pews lovingly watching the baptism of their latest grandchild, they were, no doubt, wishing little Emma a long and healthy life. However, it is unlikely that they knew just how much greater were the chances of her achieving that than was the case when they came into the world. Born last year, Emma has eight times more chance of living to be 100 than had her grandparents, when they were born in 1931.The three are a living example of the changes in public health, medical science and health care that has seen the average life expectancy of a fema