I cheated death in war.. now dancing is keeping me alive
James reveals secrets to his long life at 103 on RTE docu
A CENTENARIAN has revealed the secret to his longevity and how he’s still dancing after cheating death three times during the second World War.
James Mcmanus, 103, who lives in Co Kilkenny puts his long life down to cooking from scratch, avoiding sugar, morning stretches and weekly dance classes.
The Scottish native, who moved to Ireland 30 years ago, began dancing as a teenager in Paisley and still attends tango and ballroom classes to this day.
James told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I’ve kept my mind and body fit through dance. I live alone, cook every night and drink nettle tea with honey.
“I don’t take sugar in anything.”
James told how his introduction to the waltz 87 years ago was a “rush”.
He said: “The men had to be on one side of the room and the ladies on the other. When the music struck up, we had to walk towards the ladies.
“I finished up with this big lady, I was looking straight at this woman’s breasts. I nearly got knocked off my feet with the rush.”
At the age of 19 James was called up to fight in World War Two, just 10 days after D-day.
Recruited as a driver and radio operator for a commander, he recalled the moment the British army were attempting to take an airport from the Germans.
He told how he dodged bullets in a small town in Northern France driving his captain to soldiers on the front line.
James said: “I thought I had come to the end on three occasions. Several times we were shelled by tanks, they were exploding on the right and left of me and I was never hit.”
Recollecting his second brush with death, he added: “We had just crossed into Holland in 1945. Germans were living there and attacked our parachutist.
“We had to drive to their rescue and cross two bridges... we got shelled on the first bridge and had to turn back.”
James was instructed to move the war vehicle to get ready to retreat. Suddenly on the narrow quay one of his wheels went over the edge.
He said: “I thought I was going to finish up in the water, I had both feet on the brakes.
“If I moved an inch either way I was finished and in the river.
“A jeep came flying by and one of the guys had a rope and towed me to safety, so I dodged death again.”
I drink nettle tea with honey and don’t take sugar in anything
Commenting on his final brush with death, he said: “We were machine gunned and I hid under the vehicle and could hear the bullets bouncing off it.”
Surprisingly, James revealed that ballroom dancing in the army was his “joy” and twice a month he would dance in his base outside Cologne until he came home in 1947. He then joined the navy and “looked for a dance hall” in every port. James features in the RTE documentary Secrets from the Dancefloor which tells the stories of inspirational dancers from all walks of life. In the programme he recalls how he met his soulmate Patsy through dance. The veteran toe tapper is seen desperately trying to find an old VHS video of the couple dancing. He told us: “I met Patsy, who was a widow, at a singles dance in Plymouth. We danced together for 10 years and she passed away from cancer of the spine.
“We fell in love on the dance floor. We shopped together, showered together, and danced when we walked the dog together.
“I wanted to stay on the dance floor with Patsy forever.”
Secrets from the Dancefloor is on RTE One and RTE Player on Monday at 9.35pm.