MrsJamJam, - I have asked someone what they would call my husband if they were talking to him - the answer (which they didn't seem willing to admit) is of course "sir" - however old and battered he looks. In fact, the older we get, the more likely people are to call him sir, and the less likely they are to call me madam. Not that I am a right madam, of course.
And Daisy - I agree, many of the terms of endearment are OK - duck, hen, flower, petal - but "dear" is so so patronising. I associate it with brisk young assistants in a care home for the helpless elderly, who all have perfectly good names if the staff could be bothered remembering them - or remembering that someone has never liked porridge " Eat up your breakfast, dear, it is getting cold".