Is it time we all stopped gagging ourselves?

There seems to be a very thin line between forthrightly speaking your mind and coming across as either rude or lacking in social graces.

But children and old people usually have no such reservations and you can rely on them to speak the truth or say things out loud that most of us wouldn’t dream of saying publicly.

With refreshing bluntness and no regard for filtering their remarks to spare the feelings of others, youngsters and pensioners are united when it comes to saying exactly what they think rather than what they feel they ought to say.

And although many of us wouldn’t dare be so plain speaking ourselves, we 
often find those at either end of the age spectrum voice what many of us are secretly thinking but are too polite or scared to voice in public.

This is exactly why Brenda from Bristol captured the mood of the nation when she revealed her dismay at Theresa May’s announcement of a snap General Election.

The despairing 75-year-old exclaimed: “You’re joking, not another one!

“Oh for God’s sake I honestly can’t stand this, there’s too much politics going on at the moment, why does she need to do it?”

Her reaction summed up what so many were thinking and made her an online sensation and Brenda went viral on Twitter.

Even more comically, when told about her newfound fame, Brenda retorted: “I don’t even know what trending on Twitter means!”

But Brenda’s propensity for telling it like it is has won everyone’s hearts and some are even calling for Brenda to be PM.

Brenda’s reaction and tone of voice at the election news reminded me of the petulant backchat I get from my children when I tell them to tidy their bedrooms. “What? Again? I only tidied it yesterday!”

Blurting out what they think, children often come out with gems of comedic honesty which make us cringe while trying to contain our giggles.

Only this week, a friend of mine was informed by her four-year-old daughter: “Mummy’s old cos she is 40 so she is going to die,” which must have come as such a comfort to her in her old age.

The reason we find such such remarks so funny from the young is because we know all too soon they’re going to learn the art of self-censoring and keeping their thoughts to themselves.

After that, people usually face an adulthood of keeping schtum to spare the feelings of others ... until their twilight years when they can suddenly get away with saying things like: “Have you put on weight? You look a lot podgier.”

But’s it’s this kind of searing honesty in a world where there is too much that is fake and contrived which has led to everyone loving Brenda.

Forget the phrase: “If you haven’t got anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” and be like Brenda and say exactly what you think.

It gives us all something to look forward to as the years advance.

We know we’ll be able to seek our thrills by ditching diplomacy ... and we’ll get away with it as people will just find it hysterically funny.