Golden Oldies

I'm just very surprised that I'm still alive. Almost one in five of

us will now live to see our 100th birthday. But as our bodies age,

our minds can stay young. styling guru is Kate Moss. What

insights can we gain from those who've gone beyond their three

school years in ten? It's such a difficult jigsaw puzzle, this life.

As we all face more years of old age, what can we learn from those

still fighting to keep their independence? Life's too short. You

should always get a rehearsal. found three old people still

striving to live on their own terms. This is their story. We have had a

long life. We've worked darn hard and we're not daft. Our legs might

Every morning when I'm on the bus coming into town, I dance out and

see the word Leslie bar Lou and mutter under my breath, not today

Leslie, I haven't time. In towns like Clacton, all over Britain,

more of us are becoming older than ever before. Like 84-year-old widow

Doris, half of all over 75s now live alone. My husband died. So the

car had to go. The dog died of shock. So I'm on my own and I'm at

the end of the road. The times I've heard that. Christmas Eve I blow

him kisses. The only time. We must make the most of what we have. And

by the time we reach Clacton we are very often not complete. Good God.

Oh, dear, someone's... What you dropped? It's all right. I'm all

right. Is this what you dropped as well? Yes. Life for Doris is a

daily battle to avoid either becoming isolated in her bungalow

or ending up in a care home. Very kind of you. Thank you. Nearly lost

it. She has no children to look after her and survives on a state

pension. Aren't I lucky?! �2, 20, 30, 41. Fancy that! Can't blame me,

can you?! I look at my legs. Especially the

one that's damaged and I say, come on, you're my service for the day

and we're going out walkies, we're going walks. We're going into town.

And you're going to take me. Ooh. Is it difficult walking? Well, yes

and no. It varies. According to the weather. As it's drier, it's not

As mum used to say, I don't think they want me up there yet, I'm not

good enough". Do you want one of these, mate? No, thanks. You sure?

Yes, I'm sure. Lovely, thank you. The gentleman

said to me, I've never seen him before, "Are you aware you're using

odd shoes?" I said "Yes". Oh. Are you aware your socks are odd, he

said. I said yes. Those legs and feet are both in trouble and they

have different requirements and they're different sizes. "Oh"! That

has to be a big five and that can be a four-and-a-half. He said, you

shouldn't be on my bus. "Where should I be?" "In a hospital bed".

I said "Do you know it's not possible to obtain a hospital bed,

there's none left?". That's why I'm at home and I come out every day

for food and my requirements. "Oh, sorry, mate". I prefer to be

independent and manage for myself because as we get older, with our

bits and pieces broken off, with wear and tear, our requirements

vary. And it might be a slow process, but you know yourself what

you need and how you need it. But no, I haven't reached that stage

yet. I may of course, but not yet. I'm very, very happy to be home.

Doris treasures her privacy and won't allow anyone into her home.

But life alone in old age can all He's an Enigma because people know

him but you don't see him. Old, white hair, beard. Always got a big

coat on, he feels the cold quite a lot. I'm not normally a reclusive

person. I'm a bit of a chatterbox. I could sit down here and quite

happily tell you my life story but I know it wouldn't be very

entertaining, you know. Probably get screams, you know. That's one

of me a long time ago. What do they call a Scouser in a suit and tie?

The defendant. Gosh, I think it's about three months the last time I

seen him because I'm in and out all the time, you see. I've got my mum

two roads away and I take her out, so I'm always on the go. What sort

of life do you think he leads? Lonely I think. I don't know, I've

never seen him, apart from people that call to see him and they're

not there long. So apart from that, I think he's on his own. It's just

him with himself. I don't know, he doesn't see his daughter now.

don't know the name of the person that lives next door to me and

we've lived here 20-odd years. Almost a million older people feel

trapped in their own homes. Francis thought it was a good idea to buy

his house 15 years ago but as an owner occupier, he became

responsible for the upkeep. Unable to afford repairs and reluctant to

accept help from outsiders, his house has become more and more

dilapidated. This house does not have a kitchen, cooking facilities,

washing facilities, laundry et cetera. Here you are. You can see

that I have no bathroom. I haven't bathed in years, you know, properly.

Where's the bath then? It's in the yard because the original builders

were cowboys and they made a right mess of all the pipework. That's

the bath. And that's my kitchen sink there. Where should the sink

Stabbed! Shocked! I'm shocked out of my life. Right opposite the

church. Doris has good reason to be anxious about crime. She has been a

victim herself. She's had her bag taken, her purse taken a couple of

times. The last time she was pushed over and left liing in the gutter

and she was taken to hospital where she stayed for a couple of months.

I went to see her in hospital. She looked terrible. She was bruised

all over. She couldn't walk without a frame. That's better. It is known

that elderly people often growl. Well, as a dog growls - thank you,

love - as a dog growls, in self- defence, don't come too near me,

I've got problems. This is my life and I've got to protect myself

While she was in hospital, things went missing and she couldn't find

them when she got back home. So somebody had taken advantage of a

single old lady. A care worker who stole 87-year-old's life savings.

Disgusting. But Doris has a tried and trusted technique to help her

avoid dwelling on the vulnerability of the eld ler I. -- elderly.

you are burdened, set it down, pen to paper, address it to someone you

respect very much, or else the Lord himself, and then burn it. And

that's a very good way of avoiding sickness. Otherwise known as, give

to it the Lord. Don't carry your Francis has been married twice and

spent 15 years travelling the world as an engineer in the Merchant Navy.

That's one of me a long time ago. I know I'm asleep, but I look like

Robert De Niro there. I would say I was at the top of my game there. So

I had a good job, nice clothes, lots of friends, you know. The

Beatles. 1963. I was at sea then. I'd have been 22 nearly. Buzzing.

You know, with culture of all kinds. All the girls had the officers

round about town. They'd all head for the Cavern, you see. You would

be there all tanned because you were a seaman and nobody had tans

then. If you had a tan, you were different. Eye candy for the girls

at the time. Because it wasn't bad anyway. Life's too short, sheer

elegance. Is it too short? Yeah. It is too short. It should be a

rehearsal the first time round then you should come back and say, right,

you know what it's all about, behave yourself and then you should

have the second go. You should always get a rehearsal. Because I

know I've made a complete mess of mine. That's my granddaughter and

my grandson. That's my daughter, Karen. That's my wife who died.

Well, my daughters were seven and three. I had to give up my career,

yes. I was quite happy at sea. Sure # Yesterday,

# All my troubles seemed so far away

# Now it looks as though they are here to stay

# Oh I believe in yesterday # Suddenly

# I'm not half the man I used to be Hfrb there's a shadow hanging over

# Oh yesterday came suddenly... # I suppose I thought old people used

to pull the curtain back, sort of nosing. I think we used to call

them curtain-twitchers and things and nosey old so-and-sos, you know.

But I certainly realise now why they look out the window. Because

they're looking to see if life is We've had a shock after a

remarkably mild winter... One, two, three, four, five layers on.

Normally five layers on. That's quite a good coat, you know. And on

top of that I'll have this from my chest down to my feet. Like Francis,

three million older people every year go without heating to save on

fuel costs. The quality of life I have is the

most basic possible. I'm one move short of lying on a park bench or

in a cardboard box under a railway bridge. Over 20,000 pensioners die

from the cold every winter. Doris is still coming to terms with what

happened when she fell ill 18 She was taken very seriously ill.

So we heard that Doris was in hospital. In view of the fact that

she was very, very poorly, I genuinely didn't expect her ever to

come out. But she did pull through I don't like living like this. But

the police, the authorities, the welfare, doesn't matter who they

are, they expect you to live like this now. If you try to report

anything, they say, what's the age, 80-ish, no, it's imagination, don't

take any notice, they club together, whoever they are - I mean it -

you're out. They're not on the side of the elderly. They think it's our

imagination and because we can't cope and all sorts. But of course,

very often, it is the truth we're speaking. We've had a long life,

we've worked darn hard, we've had to stand alone for many years and

we're not daft. Our legs might be gone, but our brain's not gone.

You're right there. I know. I had withdrawals of money and I had put

it in a plastic bag when I was carted off to hospital. You see, I

don't know what went on in that It's a tremendous relief after

you've done what you should do for the day, to go in, shut the gate

and shut the door. Then you can stand there with a sigh of relief.

In the morning, you see the light and think, thank God I've been safe

all night. While she was in hospital for three months, Doris's

house was cleared of her personal possessions without her permission.

Her house was a real muddle because of her state of ill health because

she wasn't able to do very much. Nor did she want many people to go

into her house because Doris is a proud woman. I should think it was

pretty uncomfortable for her really. Older people struggle to achieve a

certain standard of cleanliness and throw out all the tins and the

cartons with their jolly old best- before dates. They probably

wouldn't be able to see the actual dates anyway. Do you worry that if

you let someone in, that they might want to take your home away from

you, Doris? One reason I'd rather remain alone

and put the lock on the door is because my way of life might not be

readily acceptable to anybody who thinks they can report it and

insist that I have care and attention that I don't wish to have.

But is it true that there was a fox in the sitting room?

Well, I can't became them, can I? They needed shelter, they needed

somewhere to be. How they got in, I do not know. I still don't know. --

I can't blame them, can I? Most of it is a blank. You were happy for

them to be there? Reasonably so, yes.

You see, all you can do is say, well, so be it, got to accept it,

it's happened and that's that. I Kitty has lived alone in her Exeter

council flat for the last 44 years. No. Not strong enough? I've got a

can opener. It isn't usually as bad as this though. I usually can

manage. Yes. That's it. It does get lonely sometimes, even though I

like living alone. You can get so lonely that you could cry. She too

has been ill, developing a stomach ulcer from anxiety caused over the

behaviour of a neighbour in her block. The worst thing was when

they tried to set fire to the flat. I think that was the scariest bit.

Where were you when they were doing that with the fire? I was standing

in the hallway because I tried to reason with them. I suppose it

frightened me more than anything because we'd all be burned. I was

shocked, yes. I didn't think it could happen to me. I thought I was

bullet proof, that nothing could get to me, but it did. I just had

this awful pain and then my neighbour upstairs, he called an

ambulance and the surgeon told me he only had three minutes to

operate. He didn't think I would make it after the operation but I

fooled him because I did. Getting ill when you're older makes you

think about how long you'll still Smiling is infectious. You catch it

like the flu. One someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too. I

passed around the corner and someone saw my grin. When he smiled,

I realised I'd passed it on to him. So if you feel a smile begin, don't

leave it undetected. Let's start an enDeppic quick and get the world

infected -- epidemic quick and get the world infected. I sit here,

totally isolated from every other human being on this planet. It's

like baby food isn't it in a way? If you let things get on top of you,

either through your own indifference or other people's

total indifference to you, I think then... Well you are just surviving

from day-to-day. It's not life, it's just existing. I just wouldn't

go out the door without shaving that day. And I'm ashamed of myself.

I take my daughters to see me - I'd hate my daughters to see me like

this. I think a lot of old people become ashamed because they are

used to having dignity. You see, you known in the past, I was

attractive to females and I didn't look like this. I can see that I

must look quite scary to some people. I'd be scared of me if I

saw myself. It certainly would be nice to have a partner now because

you've got someone to go through your life with. Losing my hair was

very sad. It really affected me. And when I came out of hospital,

they cut it really short and then it grew a bit and grew a bit

thicker. Will it ever come back? it won't grow back now. So I just

have to take care of the little bit I've got. My styling guru is Kate

Moss. I always... She says if you're not sure of your colours,

stick to black-and-white. So that's what I do. I follow Kate's advice.

Are you less interested in atacting the opposite sex? No, I'm not

really less interested in attracting the opposite sex. I like

the company of men and I like them to think, well, she isn't so bad

for 84. So I'm quite pleased when people say that to me. But that's

as far as it goes. I've no designs on them. I'm quite happy being

single. That's my Kate Moss coat. I wear that in the summer. My

underwear hasn't changed at all. There's my bra. That's my bras. And

these are my pants. So you like nice underwear? Yes, I do. Even

though nobody sees it, I like to feel the touch of nice cotton and

silk next to you. Even when I was younger, it was important that you

always had nice underwear. They don't realise that because you're

84 or you're 80, that how good and nice underwear makes you feel, how

good it makes you feel. Because deep down, you're the same person

aren't you? The years might be there, but you feel the same, you

feel the same about your body. So to cover your body, you've got to

Hello. Come In. How are you? Erm, Fine. You Always Seem To Be Getting

Younger Now. Do you want to take a little seat and we'll have a look

at your leg and see what the problem is? Yes. It's because I

don't have any proper bathing facilities in this house. That

feels quite cold, that water? I didn't warm it, it's just right

out the tap, you see. Because the water's so cold... With the cream,

it couldn't dissolve? Yes, but it's OK. Have you informed anybody of

not having any hot water? It's here but it doesn't work because of the

pipework in the bathroom. You must be freegz. How have you been

managing with no hot water? I just use cold water -- you must be

freezing. Yes and a flannel. Do you sleep upstairs? No, in that arm

chair there. How do you find that? Well, the reason I do that is

because I've been isolated for so long. Yes. I'm not normally a

person who's afraid of things, you know. Yes. But I get irrational

fear of lonelines. Do you? Yes. I feel closer to the outside world

being by the television, you know. I can put it on from the arm chair

with that piece of baton. Better? Yes. That's good. Lovely aren't

they? Angels. My daughter's a nurse. Perth, Australia. Lovely. When did

you last see your daughters? 2008. Do you still keep in touch

with them? No, I don't keep in touch with anybody really, dear.

Thanks ever so much, dears. Look after yourselves and we'll see you

next week. Yes, see you next Tuesday, dear. Bye-bye, now.

Francis has no number for his daughter and grandchildren because

they've moved house. So he calls an old neighbour who recently

emigrated to pass on a message. Hello, dear. This is Frank, Karen's

father. I haven't spoken to her for about six months maybe. Tell her to

forget about our differences, you know. If you could just say to her,

can she ring me and that way I can get her proper number, the landline

number if possible. No, I can't text her because I haven't got a

computer. Or a mobile. I don't have a mobile, you see. I'm glad you're

settled in dear, because lots of people, they go there, you know,

and then they find out they miss their family back home.

The council evicted Kitty's neighbour on the second floor.

She's still feeling the effects of her illness. 29 steps. When I see

people in wheelchairs, I just think, for the grais of God -- for the

grace of God. That's the bathroom and that's my chair that I put in

to have a bath. It's got all the little things on that you press and

the chair goes down. This thing here, it's a nuisance because it's

so big you fall over it. This is the bedroom, but it looks more like

Steptoe's Yard. At the moment, we are all into throes of packing. I

top to God there are no stairs. Some of my statues are going to a

care home for statues. People keep giving them to me, you know, when

they die. I inherit them. This little fella, he was given to me at

the hospital. When I'm going away, I say goodbye to all the furniture

and when I come back I say hello to it. So I suppose really I should be

put away. If you didn't move, what would happen? I suppose I would

stay here until I couldn't stay any longer and then it would be the

care home from there. Francis is also clinging to his

independence. A work fresh a local care home has started to visit to

see if he'd consider moving into residential care. Had your hair

cut? No. Had your ears lowered? I attacked it myself. Did you now?

Yes, not very successfully. How are you feeling today? Are you having a

bath today, my friend? The plan is to take Francis to the home so he

can have a bath. No-one should be living like this, to be honest with

you. It shouldn't be like this nowadays. You worry about them,

don't you? It's not fair on them at all. You OK, Francis? Can you

manage? How are you doing, Mister, you all right? Yes, can't be

bothered... What have you got on your shopping list today then?

nothing really. Champagne and caviar? No. That's OK then. Bread,

milk? Hm. I need to hang a venison for three days...

Got your teeth in? Teeth in. Wallace and Gromit teeth. You look

better. Give us a smile. That's it. Francis has visit ttd care home

before but is resisting attempts to get him to give him up his home.

When I was just a little girl # I asked my mother what will it

be--# Will it be silly # Will I be rich... #

Wouldn't you like to live here one day? I don't know. I'm an

independent soul. One and two, one dozen, number 12. About 12 years

since I've had a bath. Have you had a shower? Just wash myself down.

You haven't got your teeth in! didn't realise at first. Looking

sharp, Francis. This is what we like to see. Do you want me to run

it for you to make sure that it's all right? No, it's OK, just leave

me. Like Francis, many older people suffer mental health problems

brought on by isolation, lonelines and loss. Francis has struggled

with depression for many years and has even attempted suicide in the

past. Depression affects one in four over 65s and nearly half of

all those in care homes. ordinary bath, just so I can get in

and out. The bath moves up. Everything's building up inside.

He's getting anxious. That's when your mind starts working overtime.

He just doesn't want to get in it. It doesn't matter. Are you getting

a bit bothered? No. Are you sure? If it's getting stressful, just

tell me. No. Just tell me. Francis goes off the idea of a bath. He

doesn't want to live in a care home, he just wants help to make the

house he owns fit to live in. in a home for weeks and I got away,

I got out. I taught myself to walk again because I was, couldn't walk,

didn't want to move, especially with all those round me, they

didn't move all day. They were fetched down from the bedroom, had

their breakfast, sat in a car, in a chair, and they stayed there all

day. I didn't want to get like that. You see, love, there's no hope. I

didn't realise how we need the word "Hope", and expectation of life

until I went there. But they'd gradually drop that. It doesn't

matter what the day is, what the hour is, they've got a large

television, they've got every comfort and they don't want to

shift. So their body becomes limp, Blimey. I'm just very glad to sit

down. You haven't any crochet hooks have you? Mine disappeared when I

was in hospital. When your house was tidied up? Yes, it was die died

all right. I didn't have a knife, fork, mug, nothing. Strange.

been told by the vicar to be honest they decided I wasn't coming back

so they stripped the lot. That is what I heard. Where are all these

things from? God knows. I suppose they think people have gone into a

home and sometimes you can get an old copy of a book that's been gone

years and you're thrilled to bits. I have been. I don't want

everything to be flung into a bin if I'm found gone. I said, if you

look it through, take what you want and give the others to animal

sanctuaries, three-legged sheep and such like, I shall be satisfied.

You're easily forgotten, my love. Very easily. I mean, I'm trying to

get to this one that's so ill, but I can't make it, so she thinks that

I've forgotten her, presumably, but I certainly haven't. I just can't

make it that far. Some of the other people that knew us both, they'd

gron. They frequently moved to other parts of the country you see,

before they'd died to be near brothers, sisters or daughters. --

before they'd gone. That's one of the difficulttys of it all. That's

a really difficult cat, isn't it? You could say that's a pedigree.

Look at it. Would you like a cat? Not at my age, love. I know there

are thousands of homeless cats and dogs, it's not fair at my age

because somebody's going to be left. German, High Seas Fleet in Scapa

Flow. My husband would have known about that one. God. Scapa Flow.

Look at that. Fancy having one of those. Because there's many women

like me now still really not free from the effects of the war or even

the war before that. I often pray for the women. God knows who they

are, where they are. They've had a tough time because their men came

back more or less ruined. My husband had dreadful nightmares. It

can be very, very terrifying, mate, in the middle of a night. You share

a bed, you share a bedroom. You don't know where his mind is. I

know one night where his mind was. He was fighting like hell battling

the frontline, mate. And there was me kicking and shouting. He was a

Sexual attraction. You don't know where it's going to lead you. You

kind of went in with your heart at 23. I looked like a little fairy.

He was very good looking. He'd been in the navy and been round the

world a couple of times so he was like a man of the world. He was

handsome. But he kind of knew it. I suppose I thought it was just like,

you know, you see at the movies, you know, you get married and you

just have a nice house and then you'd have some children. Marriage

is a triumph of hope over adversity. Adversity comes after. I'd always

known I was attractive because there was never any shortage of

glances, you know, and winks and all that. And this is glamorous

Kitty. Jim was my first really serious boyfriend. In those days,

sex was kind of secondary. Of course, you wanted to, but we

weren't married, we got married in the registry office with a couple

of passers-by as witnesses, and we lived as man and wife until we had

enough money to have a church blessing. But my husband, when we

did get married, he was terribly jealous, you know. He used to, if

we walked through town, I used to have to walk with my eyes on the

floor, I daren't look at a fella. I daren't look because he might think

I was encouraging the fella, or if they were looking at me, he would

start to fight sometimes. At the time, you think it's flattering

because somebody thinks about you so much, but afterwards, it gets a

bit frightening, it's scary. You can't live like that.

I suppose it happened in the end, we did split up. I just threw a few

things into a case and called a taxi. I escaped as much for the

rest of my life was decided in that moment.

You are no longer a daughter, hike, because you'd left home, and you

were no longer a wife because you'd left the marriage. So you were more

or less kind of in no woman's land. That was the woshes bit, you didn't

belong anywhere -- the worst bit. I didn't think about the fantial part

of it. I knew -- financial part of it. I knew I would be living the

way I wanted to, you know, it was at least that I would have, no

matter how poor it was and how unhappy it was, at least I could be

Breaking your heart's one thing, but I don't think he ever broke my

Let me see. After Francis' wife died from kidney failure, he gave

up his job at sea. He got a teaching job at John Moores

university in Liverpool, but lost that when he was diagnosed with

chronic fatigue syndrome. If I went through all those, there's suits,

and evening dress suits in there, you know. Bow tie. I've even got

white Lynning shirts to two with it -- linen shirts to go with it. See

some of the shoes. Oh, yes. They're flippers, look. Is it like a past

life, your suitcases? They're just things to wear. And the reason it's

accumulated is because I haven't been out an awful lot. It's a long

time since I've wore a watch. Only if I went out, you see. So I'd know

the time when I went around and about. That's my sewing box. See

all the cottons and threads and scissors and things. All this, it's

probably spans from insecurity, so to make myself feel secure, if

everything's in its place and nothing is left undone, then I can

relax. You see, my own mum died when I was six, you know. So my

father brought four of us up. It could be that I want everything in

order before I pass on. Yes. I don't know is the honest answer

because we are supposedly unaware of what goes on if our subconscious.

Subconscious, the path of the mind, but which one is not fully aware,

but influences one's actions and I'm coming this afternoon to a

service for a friend of mine. It was fairly sudden. She had a fall

and it went from there. Apparently, she developed pneumonia.

She died in the hospital. So I understand. Fairly bad news from

most places. Friends in hospital, they have falls, collapse. Some of

them didn't even know they were ill. So one just carries on as usual.

That's the only thing to do. Press on regardless. Walk on regardless.

And put your head up. Try not to live in the past because that can

have its side effects. And that can bring you down. If you've got

losses, which we all have losses, try not to count them, but to count

the blessings that you still have. Because of Kitty's health problems,

her local church have paid for a trip to Lourdes in France, famous

for its miracles and healing of the sick. You sit there and they come

and get you. If I have to go anywhere, I'll be going by

wheelchair, but I'm going to get I'm going to get some Lourdes water.

I'm not strong enough. Thank you. That's good. If Lourdes water can

cure your ailments, it's miraculous water. I really believe it helps.

Even if it doesn't cure you, it helps you accept that maybe that

what you've got isn't as bad as it was. You've got to have hope.

And he cured them. The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking,

the cripples whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their

sight. Hello, father. May Almighty God bless you and help you to truly

confess your sins. I can't remember, father, my last confession. Kitty

is being cared for. She's one of the sick basically. She's quite

feeble, although don't tell her I said that! She'll kill me. For all

the sins I have committed I am truly sorry... I think getting old

is a bit like your first baby. I've never had a child but nobody tells

you until it arrives how to deal with it. We do worry about Kitty

because she's had a big operation last year and she's a bit concerned

whether it's healed up properly or not. Don't try to stand all the way

through. No. OK. They keep wanting me to sit down and I don't want to

sit down. I keep wanting to thump him. After a long day of walking

and standing, Kitty has been asked to use a wheelchair for the torch

light procession. Where's Kitty? She'll be in a chair hopefully.

Let's just check. She didn't just walk past you, did she? Did Kitty

come down? He's not here yet. Thank you. Kitty has gone missing.

haven't seen Kitty, no. I think she was intending to come. Apparently

she's upstairs and doesn't want to come to the torch light this

evening. They wanted me to go in a wheelchair. I didn't want to go in

any wheelchair. Being like a chicken ready for the even, I

didn't want to look like that. They think I'm a bit disabled, a bit

helpless. When you come here, you're staring death in the face

nearly every day because there are so many people who are dying.

People come here to die. But nobody lets you dwell on it. Because

everybody kind of feels the same. You're here and you're going to

I wrote this little poem - now I have time to smell the roses, walk

through woods and gather white posies, now I have time to say my

prayers and not be afraid to kneel on the stairs. The cause of it all

if the truth be told is simply because I've grown old. Do you

believe in God? I've screamed at God here in this house on my own.

Because let's face it, when you're on your own, he's the only one left,

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds

Smile. By Nat King Cole. I'd reckon that's the record for suicidal

people. I don't fear death, to be honest. Because it will be a relief

in some ways. The only thing I pray to God, could you make it quick

because you can't... I've tried it before. It's hard to swallow 100

If you can adapt to your surroundings, then you'll be OK,

you'll get through life in a reasonable fashion. Don't give up

when you think you've only got a certain number of years to live. Go

at it full steam ahead. Don't lie down before you have to.

Unfortunately, a lot of people do, I'm very surprised that I'm still

alive. I've had so many squeaks. I've always been accident prone but

I've managed to scrape through and come through somehow each time.

There's the registrars. For what, Doris? Death. One doesn't ever give

up, does one? May I be a blessing to someone today. Without being a

nuisance to them, of course. Where do you want to end up? Oh, it

doesn't matter much at all. My husband always used to say,

straight under the rhubarb, that In living more slowly, especially