APPROACHING your half-century on the planet is a daunting prospect for even the most young at heart and sprightly amongst us.

When the big 50 rolls around, you’ve climbed the hill, and it’s time to take the long fall down the other side, into what some would generously call your golden years, but others term a slow decline.

Gone is the energetic, loose-limbed, and quicksilver youth of yesteryear, and in its place is a pale spectre with a receding hairline, growing waistline, and a strange squint that causes you to recoil from the mirror in horror.

Yet it’s not all bad. Turning 50 is a great time to reflect, plan, and defy the ageing process by laughing in the face of old Father Time and push yourself out of your comfort zone to go boldly where you’ve never been before.

Local lad Robert Jenkins is one such dude who refuses to go gently into that good night and spent his 50th year travelling the globe to do 50 skateboard tricks in, if not 50 different countries, at least two - Australia and Wales. He also had the whole thing filmed for posterity!

Now living in Perth, Australia, after emigrating there 20 years ago, Rob explained, “Last year I turned 50. For the past year, I’ve pushed through the aches and pains of my age and set out to record myself doing 50 different tricks (yes, they probably all look the same to a non skateboarder), nothing death defying, just fun, low to the ground stuff.

"I’ve never stopped skateboarding, but definitely slowed down over the years. Regardless, I set myself the challenge.

"It was good motivation to get me trying things I’ve not done in years, mainly bouncing my less athletic body off the concrete.

"I made myself a list of tricks I used to do, in my head, I could still do them, but soon realised my overly ambitious set list needed some practice, the muscle memory had almost gone, that and having the wettest winter Perth has had in 30 years made finding days to actually get out and skate quite challenging.

"Anyway, I managed to get 50 done, a couple I’m even happy with!"

Rob's parents Eric and Patrica Jenkins, will be familiar to many Chronicle readers as they used to be the owners of Eric Jenkins Motorcycles in Cross Street.

Alongside his son Evan, who has just started skateboarding himself, Rob's fellow Abergavenny exile Lee Jenkins makes a cameo in "50 At 50," as does Pontypool bruiser Lee Dainton. Both gentlemen are keenly aware of the ravages of middle age and were keen to support their ageing friend in his endeavours.

Rob joked, "Age is just a number until you wake up aching all over, and then it's a nightmare. In all seriousness, though, I'm glad I set myself the challenge to mark turning 50! It proves you're never too old to jut roll with it!"