You’re never too old to
From skydiving to marathons, there are countless older people in Wales who are proving that age is just a number. Here are a few examples of older people who are doing incredible things... ROGER HARRISON
A DAREDEVIL grandad raised thousands of pounds in honour of his severely ill wife – by taking part in his very first skydive.
Roger Harrison, now 81, jumped out of a plane at Swansea Airport to donate funds to leading charity Parkinson’s UK.
His wife of more than 50 years, Angela Harrison, was diagnosed with the progressive condition which could severely hamper her movement and speech in the future.
So to raise money and awareness of his wife’s neurological disease, grandfather-of-five Roger decided to hurtle towards the ground at 120mph from 12,000ft in the air.
“The funny thing was I wasn’t nervous at all – I think my wife was more scared than me,” joked Roger, who was strapped to a professional sky diving instructor for the deathdefying jump.
“The whole operation at the sky diving centre was very professional and they gave me so much confidence.
“I was in the air for about six minutes and free-falling for about one minute. It was very disorientating and there was a lot of noise, but it was tranquil once the parachute opened.
“But the most important thing is, that thanks to the incredible generosity of everybody we have raised thousands for Parkinson’s.”
Sprightly pensioner Roger, who lives in Penylan, Cardiff, had to undergo a medical assessment to make sure he was fit enough to take part in the dive.
“The conditions were absolutely perfect,” he added.
“But I won’t be taking part in any more like this. I don’t think my wife would let me!”
Since taking part in the skydive, Roger has helped raise awareness of Parkinson’s cafes, which provide “welcoming spaces” for people affected by the condition.
They offer an opportunity to tackle social isolation, make new friends and find out about the support available.
The Cardiff Branch of Parkinson’s UK now runs a total of four cafes spread right across the Welsh capital.
Here’s where you can find the cafes:
Whitchurch Community Centre Old Church Road, Whitchurch On the first Tuesday of the month (11am-12.45pm)
Rhydypenau Library Llandennis Road, Cyncoed, Cardiff On the third Monday of the month (10.30am-12.30pm)
St Mellons Community Hub Crickhowell Road, Cardiff On the third Tuesday of the month (10.30am-12.30pm)
Ely & Caerau Community Hub Cowbridge Road West, Cardiff On the first Wednesday of the month (10.30am-12.30pm) A CARE home resident discovered Civil War musket shot and a horde of other “buried treasure” after taking up metal detecting.
Gary Cobb, a resident of Bodlondeb, Pendine Park’s specialist dementia centre of excellence in Wrexham, was introduced to the hobby by senior care practitioner Lee Swallow.
The intrepid treasure hunters regularly scour the grounds of the care organisation’s site in Summerhill Road.
As a result, they have turned up a large collection of old coins, watches, jewellery items and even a musket shot, which probably dates back to the time of the Civil War.
Lee, who has worked at Bodlondeb for seven years, took up metal detecting as a hobby in 2004.
He thought he’d introduce Gary to the joys of searching for lost coins and other items within the extensive grounds of the Pendine Park site.
Lee said: “Gary gets a great deal from our metal detecting sessions and his dream is to find a gold sovereign or a Roman coin. Who knows he might be lucky!
“We are also going to take a trip down to the beach and maybe a few other residents can come along too and watch what we do.
“To be honest we have only scratched the surface of the Pendine Park site and it will take years to search it all properly.
“It’s amazing what we are turning up and Gary is becoming a real expert. On his very first attempt he found some King George coins.”
The plan is for the artefacts to be put on display or given to a museum.
Gary said: “I’ve been a resident of Bodlondeb for more than two years now and metal detecting with Lee has given me a new interest. “It’s something I really do enjoy. “What I really want to find is a gold coin, now that really would be something special and magical.
“I like being outside and doing something interesting.
“There’s real excitement and anticipation when Lee and I are metal detecting together and we get to talk too.
“It’s really good of Lee to let me use his spare metal detector and I know how much John enjoys reminiscing about the coins we find. It’s given me a new lease of life.”