Blanche - it's hard work to get a job. I recently hosted a 29 year old woman who had an ace CV but took a year off to travel, and 5 months after her return home she is still doing temp work.

Ageism exists for sure - I hated the pressure to dye my greying hair for job interviews, etc - but I agree with Seesaw that the bigger drawback is your lack of previous positive experiences. I know what it's like to work your butt off doing 100's of applications and to only get one acceptance who then fired me a month in because their previous experienced employee changed his mind about leaving.

What gets me through all these disheartening challenges that life throws up is finding my own resources. That's the first thing - mental, emotional, physical stamina: it's probably the most important thing for my mood and for a prospective employer. Seems to me that good people are attracted to people who have those three types of stamina. Bad people will still discriminate, but pay more attention to the good employers.

Tell them why your life experience offers them as much as the raw energy of younger candidates. I've done physical work during my early 60's successfully, no complaints. I tell employers that I might have less energy but my skills and attentiveness are superior. About 60% of people take me up on that.

Keep ranting if you need to - we are at your back - just don't believe the rants so much that you get bogged down by them!!! This is a tough patch for you but if you keep going you will get through it and thrive.