When I was a teenager, I shirked the weekly horror of the hockey pitch by instead volunteering as a helper in a Belfast day centre for the elderly. Once there, commanded by two formidable middle-aged women from the Les Dawson school of femininity, my friend and I acted as bingo callers. One of us shouted out the numbers, complete with traditional catchphrases, while the other solemnly took round the prize tray to the winners.
There was evidence of spirit among the elderly folk assembled for this diversion: when I carolled out "Legs Eleven!" one game old boy never failed to unleash a wolf whistle. But the exercise was not without its pathos: the players had to bring in the prizes themselves, and I often found myself assisting a winner in their ponderous deliberations between a small can of peas, a bar of coal tar soap, and a china ornament of dubious appeal. More...
See also:
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- Japan: 86-year old Buddhist nun writes a cell-phone novel!!!
- 10 cigars a day and a shot of whisky, and he's 100 years old!!!
- Shigeaki Hinohara, 97-years-old and still going strong...
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