THE TONY 'N' CLINT SHOW

HOW amazing to see Clint Eastwood and Tony Bennett chatting together so informally on tonight's BBC2 Arena tribute to the jazz star which Clint also produced.

Both of these fellas are not only the greatest in their own territories, but they have each given up more than two hours of their lives just for me and the Birmingham Mail in the past.

Thanks guys - it's been a real privilege to see at first hand just how generous of spirit you both are.

And what is the X Factor they share?

Well, their combined age is 160, yet the lesson for all of us is that they're still both trying to learn as much as they can ready to distill even more of their whole life's experience into that all-important next piece of work.

And that folks, is not only the secret of success, but a good example of why retirement is such a stupid concept. Why should anyone stop doing what they are good at just because of a date on a birth certificate?

Don't miss my review of Clint Eastwood's next great movie Gran Torino - only in next Friday's Birmingham Mail.