A surprising fact from the @ONS last week. The number of people aged 99 rose by over 60% last year, with increases for the surrounding ages all in single figures. That means that, in amongst all the COVID gloom, we can expect similar figures for centenarians this year. Why? 1/3

Armistice Day was 11/11/1918. Add 9 months to that, and you get a (possibly predictable), boom in births starting the following summer which lasted just over a year. At 30/6/2019 (the effective date of the analysis), the vast majority were aged 99. 2/3

The declining trend on either side means that the growth percentages of the ages on either side have been suppressed, which makes the high growth at 99 even more marked. So let's raise a glass to Sir Captain Tom, and all the other centenarians in 2020. 3/3 ENDS