Dr Beardy (Mrs)1 would be very disparaging at the use of the word ''old' used to describe someone because apparently if you need to refer to someone with chronologically derived tag, you should refer to them as 'older' (or younger as appropriate). Apparently there is no such demographic as 'old'
1. in a former life the good doctor was a nurse who spent much of that career looking after people with age related issues. It used to be called geriatric nursing. when she first embarked on an academic career, she studied something she knew, i.e. looking after older people. She did this in parallel with studying, what was later to become her speciality, death.
