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Old age is often considered a time of decline, but older adults around the world are filling their golden years with amazing accomplishments. Scroll down to watch five inspiring videos that prove life doesn't end after 50.
1. The Rockin' Runner
Most people won't ever run a marathon, but in June 2014, Charlotte, N.C. resident Harriette Thompson completed her 15th-and broke a few records in the process.

At 91 years old, Thompson is the oldest woman ever to compete in the Suja Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon and the second-oldest marathon runner in U.S. history. She finished the race in 7 hours, 7 minutes, and 42 seconds to break the U.S. record for the fastest time in her age group. Thompson, a cancer survivor, has been running since 1999 and ran her first marathon at age 76.

Watch the video to see Thompson cross the finish line for her record-breaking run.

LINK TO YOUTUBE: http://youtu.be/5vlGKyxl22M
2. The Extreme Exerciser
A couch potato he's not-73-year-old Brooklynite Jacinto Bonilla doesn't just stay active, he participates in CrossFit, a highly intensive group fitness sport popular in the United States and around the world. Bonilla progressed from bodybuilding and lifting weights on his own at the gym to joining the CrossFit movement about six years ago. In 2008 he participated in the annual CrossFit Games, a global competition aimed at finding the "fittest people on earth." Four years later, Bonilla placed 17th in the world in the Masters 60+ division as the oldest competitor at that year's CrossFit Games.

Watch the video to check out Bonilla's extreme workouts.
3. The Grandma Gymnast
At 88 years old, Germany native Johanna Quaas is the oldest active gymnast in the world. Quaas, born in 1925, started doing gymnastics at an early age and participated in her first competition in 1934. Eighty years later, she's still competing, and her participation in the Turnier der Meister in Cottbus in 2012 notched her an entry in The Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest gymnast in the world. The grandmother and mother of three has been married to Gerhard Quaas, a gymnastics coach, for more than 50 years.

The video below shows the still-spry Quaas executing some training routines.
4. The Super Senior
Graduating from college is an accomplishment for anyone, but for 95-year-old Kansas native Nola Ochs, it's a record-breaking achievement. In May 2007, Ochs became the oldest person on record to graduate from college when she received her diploma from Fort Hays State University alongside her granddaughter. She began pursuing a degree at age 65 (when FHSU was still known as Kansas State College) after her husband passed away. Thirty years later, through a combination of online and in-person classes, Ochs reached her goal and crossed the stage to receive her college diploma.

Watch the video to see Ochs' proud moment at the graduation ceremony.
5. The Seasoned Skydiver
Jumping out of a plane is scary at any age, but in 2011, Fred Mack celebrated his 100th birthday by skydiving for the second time. Mack's first skydiving experience came at age 95, and he followed it up five years later at Free Fall Adventures in Williamstown, New Jersey when he completed a 13,000-foot tandem jump.

Perhaps the centenarian's fearlessness came from prior experience: he flew planes in the 1930s and also worked as an engineer, helping to design fighter planes during World War II. Skydiving isn't his only active hobby-Mack was a competitive skier into his 70s and skied all the way into his 90s.

Watch the video to see Mack's death-defying jump.

What are your plans for "retirement?" Let us know in the comments!

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Age is Only a Number; Amazing Accomplishments by 70, 80 and 90 Year Olds | NewRetirement

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Old age is often considered a time of decline, but older adults around the world are filling their golden years with amazing accomplishments. Scroll down to watch five inspiring videos that prove life doesn't end after 50. 1. The Rockin' Runner Most people won't ever run a marathon, but in June 2014, Charlotte, N.C.

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Silver Grey Sports Club Videos

Ernestine Shepherd, at one time the oldest competitive female body-builder, titles which she won in 2010 and 2011, has passed 80 - and she's still going strong.

No longer competing, she still trains in the gym 4 times per week, as well as doing cardio exercise every day - up to 80 miles per week - and it shows. You can't really believe that she's 80.
Read more: Ernestine Shepherd is 80

If you ever had any doubt about the effectiveness of exercise on the condition of your body have a look at this - a number of women athletes taking part in age-group competition in the Crossfit Open 2017, all of them over 50 and the oldest of them in their sixties.

There's a lot of talking so the parts to watch - the amazing women athletes themselves - are at 1' 10", 1' 50", 2' 45", 3' 45", 4' 40" and 5' 30".
Read more: Crossfit Open 2017 - age-group women

The Fountain of Youth. It's an idea that has been around since the beginning of human history, probably, certainly since early civilisation, with roots in Greek mythology and written about as early as the the 5th century BCE, by the Greek writer Herodotus. He described it as a spring that could restore the youth of anyone who drinks from it or bathes in its waters. That story described a quite literal return to being young. The question is, is it really necessary to be young in order to be youthful, or at least in order to have some of the energy that one has when younger.

Apparently not - at least, not according to a report into some research from the Mayo Clinic.
Read more: Fountain of Youth Reloaded

As the saying goes, it isn't the first time and it certainly won't be the last time .... that we get research that shows that the benefits of exercise go beyond muscles and up as far as your brain.

Here is yet more evidence that exercise can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimers disease. It comes from a study carried out at McMaster University in Canada by Jennifer Heisz, an assistant professor in the department of kinesiology.
Read more: Exercise and the Brain... again!!

Grays on Trays is not a slogan we came up with but it does seem to be a label surrounding an unconnected group of people who definitely fall into our camp - people past whatever age it is that people generally think of as the right age for extreme (or any) sport and who are intent on getting somehwere in their chosen sport, in this case snowboarding.

The first of these is 64-year old John Kuby, from Edmonton, Canada.
Read more: Grays on Trays

Jackson Hole in Wyoming has long been associated with the more extreme end of skiing. Here's someone who has been part of creating that tradition, still jumping into couloirs.
Read more: Wild Bill from Jackson

Beat Kammerlander is someone who has pushed the boundaries of his sport, sport climbing. Having begun as a teenager in his native Austria, he is still climbing well into his fifties. He is particularly known for developing sport climbing in the Alps.

Here he is climbing a route that he created and which he named The Three Sieves.

The German gymnast Johanna Quaas is officially the oldest active gymnast in the world. In 2013, she was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for that achievement.

At 90, in 2015, she was still going strong.
Read more: Johanna Quaas, the world's oldest gymnast

We found this short film about 60-year-old skateboarder Neal "The Dude" Unger. We really love his attitude to sport and age. When he talks about what he loves about skateboarding, we couldn't put it better ourselves.
Read more: Neal "The Dude" Unger

Good things come in three's, so they say, so here are three good things - well, three things, anyway.

There's a proverb that says "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link" - your body could be the perfect illustration of that. If you're going to suffer injury through doing your sport it could well be at the weakest part of you. So, as much as possible you have to keep every part of your body as strong as every other part.
Read more: Muscles, Exercise - and Olive Oil!

The Paralympics have just finished and - wow! What impressive and inspirational athletes, both in their performances and in their attitude. These athletes have to deal with great challenges in their lives, whether from a congenital condition or a disability caused by an event. Such determination, such guts, all channelled into becoming elite athletes performing at the highest level!
Read more: Paralympics? Ageing is not a disablility

Who are you, how old are you, what do you do?

My name is Wayne Lèal. I'm 58 years young and a global Health Coach with many years' experience, a recent grandfather, an author and a former small business of the year award winner. I have trained boxing champions, Premier League footballers and captains of industry. I am also the UK ambassador for Americas No.1 selling fitness trampoline, JumpSport and a featured guest presenter at Champneys: the UK's No. 1 health spa.
Read more: Wayne Léal - Global Health Coach

A strong swell, and a reasonably strong on-shore wind - to surf or not to surf, that was the question for us as developing surfers. The answer came to to us in the form of 56-year-old RNLI beach lifeguard Steve Stritch, and as you can see from our short clip of him surfing, he said "Yes, yes, yes. Come on in, the water's lovely!"

So we did, it was, and afterwards we got the chance to tell Steve that he had inspired us to take the plunge, and to ask him a bit about himself.
Read more: Steve Stritch - RNLI lifeguard and surfer

These days, with all the efforts that are being made to combat climate change, the watchword for every kind of transport is fuel efficiency. The world's favourite environmentalist, Jeremy Clarkson, believes that hydrogen fuel cells are the answer to non-polluting car power; other people think it should be electric cars powered by sustainably generated electricity - or solar powered cars, even. Until any of those things happen, though, it will still be all about fuel efficiency. And now, it seems, fuel efficiency is something Silver Grey athletes can aim at and benefit from.
Read more: Silver Grey, Green... or Both?

Here are two videos about women surfers, one 68 and the other 71 years old. They both surf at an age that used to be unusual, at least, but which is less so now. On top of the fact that they both love riding the waves, there's a very interesting difference between them. One has been surfing all her life, and the other only took up the sport at the age of 53.
68 year old Genie and 71 year old Gwyn Read more: A Tale of Two Surfies

A bit of a dry title for an article, isn't it? The only good thing to say about it is that if your brain can be described as ageing it means it's still alive - therefore so are you! So make the most of it! And that's what the Silver Grey Sports Club stands for - ageing doesn't inevitably equal decrepitude, it can mean being strong and fit and so having more time to do your sport. And here is yet more evidence that doing sport and exercise is not only fun and good for you physiologically, it's also good for your brain! It's not the first time we've written about this, and no doubt it won't be the last.
Read more: Exercise and the Ageing Brain

Well, is there or isn't there? Is there good news or is there uncertainty? Certainly, there is good news, but there is also a small amount of uncertainty. The uncertainty concerns the question "is it genetics or is it training?"

What is it all about? It's about Motor Units.
Read more: Fountain of Youth?

More Articles ...

You can see more of the videos we've made with the Silver Grey athletes we've met and read more about them HERE, and read more interesting stories and articles from around the web in The Pinboard

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Silver Grey Sports Club Videos Ernestine Shepherd, at one time the oldest competitive female body-builder, titles which she won in 2010 and 2011, has passed 80 - and she's still going strong. No longer competing, she still trains in the gym 4 times per week, as well as doing cardio exercise every day - up to 80 miles per week - and it shows.

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Karate and ballet aren't the typical activities you'd expect someone over 70 to enjoy, but one photographer has discovered that it's the key for some to staying young.

Vladimir Yakovlev created the photo series The Age of Happiness in the hope of changing our ideas about what life is like after 70, 80, 90 or even 100.

Two years ago, the photojournalist travelled around the world searching for people who have discovered new-found hobbies and pleasures in their older age.

On his travels the Yakovlev met some extraordinary characters who enjoy each and every day and inspire others to make their lives as fulfilling.

He hopes that this will allow others to change their attitude towards later life and strive to see it as an age of happiness and discovery.

Some of his photo subjects include Ruth, John, Paul and Greta. Ruth decided to become a club DJ when she turned 68.

After losing her husband suddenly after 40 years together, she found she no longer wanted to stay in their home in a village in Portugal. Everything around her reminded her of her loss and she decided she had to try something new.

When she told friends she was set on becoming a DJ she says they thought her sorrow had driven her to madness.

Ruth could not understand why everyone was so convinced that older people are supposed to sit quietly at home and not dance at night clubs.

Over the past two years, 73-year-old Ruth has performed over 80 times. She has played at various clubs in London, Ibiza, Paris, New York, Los Angeles and even Tokyo.

63-year-old Greta only began pole dancing two years ago but it has already become one of her favourite ways to stay active.

At 59, she was diagnosed with Osteoporosis, a condition that destroys bone density.

She explains: "To strengthen my bones, I needed strenuous exercise, something that would involve lifting weights. But just weight-lifting is very boring. That's why I looked into dancing with a pylon."

At 94, John Lowe's favourite thing to do is ballet. What makes his story even more inspiring is that he only started when he was 80 years old.

John says that he dreamed about dancing his entire life. To stay in shape, he rehearses at the theatre three times a week, and on top of that, practices alone at home every day.

John even created a dance room at home, putting down a wooden floor and installed a ballet bar along the wall. Sometimes, to get his mind off of his ballet training, he rollerblades.

When he turned 90, his family of four kids and 11 grandchildren forbade him from leaping and turning 360 degrees in mid-air.

"They are afraid that if I fall, they won't be able to put me back together, and, in a way, they are right," he jokes. So for now John just leaps, without turning. But, he cannot keep himself from leaping.

For more information, visit Vladimir Yakovlev's website.

Have you taken up an unusual hobby in your later years? Tell us in the Comments section below.

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Pole-dancers, DJs and skateboarders - meet the extreme OAPs for whom life began at 70

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Karate and ballet aren't the typical activities you'd expect someone over 70 to enjoy, but one photographer has discovered that it's the key for some to staying young. Vladimir Yakovlev created the photo series The Age of Happiness in the hope of changing our ideas about what life is like after 70, 80, 90 or even 100.

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The number of pensioners injuring themselves while doing extreme sports has more than tripled in the past three years, according to an adventure sports insurer.

While scuba diving, mountaineering and surfing are more usually associated with fizzy-drink-swilling teenagers and 20-somethings, they have seen a mass influx of baby boomers and their parents. Now insurers and adventure specialists are reporting a dramatic rise in injuries, serious incidents and fatalities among those of retirement age taking part in dangerous sports.

Britons aged 70 or over generated nearly a fifth - 17 per cent - of all injury claims last year resulting from sports such as diving, mountaineering and skiing, compared to just 5 per cent in 2006, according to a specialist insurer.

Perkins Slade, which insures adventure groups such as the British Mountaineering Council and British Aqua Club, said that the high proportion of claims came despite the fact that over-70s made up just 5 per cent of their clients.

More than a third of the 212 people in British scuba diving incidents requiring medical treatment last year were over 50, according to figures released by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The agency says that both the number of incidents and the proportion of victims over 50 has "significantly increased" in comparison with previous years.

"There has been an abnormally high number of injuries and fatalities among the over-50s this year," said Brian Cumming, safety adviser for the British Sub Aqua Club. "It's not unique to diving; all activity sports are seeing similar problems. Typically it's a heart attack or a stroke."

Richard Doubleday, director of Sport at Perkins Slade, said: "We've seen a big increase in the number of older people in accidents - there was a time when the over 70s made up as little as 2 per cent of our claims. There's no doubt that the statistical evidence is there that the older you are the more risk you present. I think [overall] the population is genuinely getting fitter and healthier, but after 70 we've got statistics which show that the incidence of accidents increases sharply."

The rise comes as more and more Britons take up or continue high- adrenaline pursuits into retirement.

According to the website Adventuresportsholidays.com, the proportion of over-50 visitors to the site interested in going on an extreme holiday rose by 18 per cent between 2008 and 2009. The three most popular sports holidays chosen from the site by those aged 50 and over were skiing, surfing and cycling.

Tom Harrison, 73, is one of many in his generation who are happy to accept the accidents that come with greater risk-taking. The adventure sports enthusiast, who works in an outdoor shop, recently took up mountain biking and ended up with a broken rib.

"I've had my fair share of accidents. I managed to come off my bike backwards and hit a tree not long ago. I broke a rib, so that was pretty painful, but it's all fun." It's not just on his bike that Mr Harrison has had bad luck, however. "I do a lot of fell-running and marathons. I crashed over doing sprint training in the dark, cut open my head and had to have five stitches. Just three months later I was back in A&E having done the same thing. They reminded me I didn't get a volume discount."

Like many of his contemporaries who are prepared to take risks at an age when their parents' generation might have preferred to reach for a pipe and slippers, Mr Harrison says the stitches and broken bones will not deter him.

"As you get older your balance isn't the same when you go downhill, so when it's a grassy slope you slow down a bit, but I'm not going to stop running. I belong to a fell-running club so I still go all the time. I'm very creaky and arthritic, but otherwise fine and I've raised over £10,000 in 10 years for Help the Aged doing all these things. I have packed up running at night on rough ground as my eyesight has deteriorated a bit, but it hasn't occurred to me to give up. I'm running in the London Marathon next week."

Ken Bazeley, national scuba diving officer for the MCA, said that older people wanting to take part in high-risk sports such as diving should simply make sure they have done the right health checks. "In general the population are living longer, are fitter and have more disposable income, so it is no surprise that we are diving longer into retirement age. But this does bring some risks, and divers should be aware they are not invulnerable and a health check would be advisable."

Dr David Spiegelhalter, a risk statistician at Cambridge University - and himself a keen mountaineer - said that the increase in incidents should not put off those wanting to be adventurous as they get older.

"I'm 56 and I've just booked my third 20,000ft peak this summer. I think it's completely rational for people to do more dangerous things as they get older. Your natural background risk of dying is greater anyway, and you've done your bit, so why not go out in glory?"

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The number of pensioners injuring themselves while doing extreme sports has more than tripled in the past three years, according to an adventure sports insurer. While scuba diving, mountaineering and surfing are more usually associated with fizzy-drink-swilling teenagers and 20-somethings, they have seen a mass influx of baby boomers and their parents.

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The question asked by many who are thinking of getting tattoos or already own them.

Surely with more and more people getting tattoos everyday, less people are asking themselves this? But if you're still not sure about taking the plunge and going under the needle, check out these photos of tatted-up OAP's. We think they look wicked. Being the only thing we take to the grave, most of us see tattoo's as an investment. Plus, those tattoos will cover up all the varicose veins and wrinkles collected throughout our days of curbing our enthusiasm.

Source: Plaid Zebra

Latest posts by Annie Marie Page (see all)

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10 tattooed OAP's that will make your Gran cringe

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"What will it look like when I'm old?" The question asked by many who are thinking of getting tattoos or already own them. Surely with more and more people getting tattoos everyday, less people are asking themselves this? But if you're still not sure about taking the plunge and going under the needle, check out these photos of tatted-up OAP's.

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Grandmas are seriously the best.

They're warm, affectionate, and giving, but also funny, wise, and incredibly sharp!

Age doesn't mean a thing when you're an awesome grandma, always there for your children and grandchildren, helping them out in ways big and small and putting a smile on their faces.

Grandmas deserve the utmost love and respect, as they've been around the block and know a thing or two, including some stuff that may surprise you ...

If you're a grandma yourself, you will so be able to relate to this list of awesome qualities.

Please SHARE these signs you're an awesome grandma with someone you love!

1. No matter your circumstances, you find joy in life's simple pleasures. This grandma wanted to see the ocean for the last time before checking into a hospice, so her family took her, and the look on her face speaks volumes!

2. You make an effort to keep up with the times (even though you know things were so much simpler in your day!)

3. You're a wonderful role model in showing your grandkids that you can never be too old to follow your dreams! This amazing granny graduated high school at the age of 73 when she could just as easily have said, "Forget it!"

4. Every time your grandbabies visit, you shower them with treats!

5. You're always surprising your grandkids with your skills and talents. This 84-year-old woman asked her grandkid for her first tablet. He installed an art program for her as requested and left her alone with her new toy for 30 minutes. This is what he came back to...

6. You're a shining pearl of wisdom.

7. Animals instinctively trust you because of your naturally warm, loving nature...

8. ...and so do your precious grandbabies!

9. Meeting them for the first time fills your heart with unspeakable pride and joy.

10. You get a secret giggle out of pranking your grandkids.

11. You've got a fantastic sense of humor, and you don't take yourself too seriously!

12. You suspect that your grandkids don't really like sweaters you make or buy them, but you get a kick out of seeing them in 'em anyway!

13. You know better than anyone that age and style do not correlate. And yes, your taste in fashion in fabulous!

14. You're not ashamed to admit your age...well, as long as it's the age you see yourself as! Age is just a number anyway.

15. You know you've earned the right to be totally honest with everyone. This grandma is reacting to seeing her grandkid's tattoo for the first time! Priceless.

16. You really know how to strut your stuff, and are always down to teach the youngsters!

17. You're pretty much a boss and you know it.

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17 Things That Only The COOLEST Grandmas Do...

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Grandmas are seriously the best. They're warm, affectionate, and giving, but also funny, wise, and incredibly sharp! Age doesn't mean a thing when you're an awesome grandma, always there for your children and grandchildren, helping them out in ways big and small and putting a smile on their faces.

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When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

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Warning Poem by Jenny Joseph - Poem Hunter

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When I am an old woman I shall wear purpleWith a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer glovesAnd satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tiredAnd gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bellsAnd run my stick along the public railingsAnd make up for the sobriety of my youth.I shall go out in my slippers in the rainAnd pick flowers in other people's gardensAnd learn to spit.

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It was a good week for the over-65s. The Noise of Time, the new novel by Julian Barnes (born 1946) soared to the top of the Sunday Times fiction chart. It was scarcely possible to switch on Radio 4 without hearing a reference to or an interview with Joan Bakewell (born 1933) whose autobiography Stop the Clocks is currently crowding out the bookshop shelves. Annie Leibovitz's cover photo for the new Vanity Fair Hollywood issue shows no fewer than four seventysomething actresses - Charlotte Rampling, Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton and Helen Mirren.

Further confirmation of the advantages of seniority came with the publication of a "happiness survey" suggesting that while people in middle age were stricken with ennui and anxiety, those in the age-band 65-79 were largely contented with their lot.

Sadly, there were a few truculent ingrates determined to buck this trend of senior citizen achievement. One was Jeremy Corbyn (born 1949), criticised in some quarters for his refusal to attend the "Oldie of the Year" awards, staged by The Oldie magazine, on the grounds that a three-hour lunch-cum-awards ceremony was incompatible with his busy schedule. But the greatest offender by far was the distinguished thespian Robert De Niro (born 1943), slated by practically every critic on the block for what can only be described as conduct unbecoming to a veteran actor.

Not having seen Dirty Grandpa, in which De Niro stars as a feisty widower heading off to Florida with his strait-laced grandson, I can only report the opinions of others. These are almost universally awful. Contributors to the Rotten Tomatoes website, for example, have filed an average score of 2.7 out of 10. The BBC's Mark Kermode, who one has always assumed to have a strong stomach, remarked that having seen the film he "did feel genuinely unclean. I wanted to go and have a shower, because it's just so revolting". Other reviewers have disparaged "the careless fumblings of a classic talent that once brought pleasure to millions".

But there is a wider complaint lurking beyond this volley of insults, the suspicion that the spectacle of a 72-year-old watching pornography, listening to loud music and chasing women young enough to be his grand-daughters out on the Florida strand is not only a disavowal of De Niro's genius, but, for a man of his age, simply undignified. It is not just that the ornament of Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter and Cape Fear has made a film so terrible that even my 15-year-old son declines to watch it, but that he has apparently acted - if you will excuse the pun - in a manner inappropriate to his years.

The "dignity" that supposedly attends advancing age - what the ancient Romans used to call otium cum dignitate - is, naturally, a tricky area for those who have not yet reached that generational plateau. What, after all, do we know about what it is like to be old and how we might want to behave when we get there, and why should anyone else feel the need to be prescriptive about it?

When, a couple of years ago the distinguished versifier Craig Raine (born 1944) and the literary critic Terry Eagleton (born 1943) embarked on one of their regular spats, several newspaper commentators suggested that, really, it was unseemly for a couple of aging literary gentlemen to be trading abuse in this way.

My sympathies were with messrs Raine and Eagleton. Raine, for example, is a critic of almost legendary acerbity. Why should he be expected to change the habits of a lifetime on receipt of a bus pass? Grey hair is no guarantor of suavity. It is the same with the elderly man in the Lewis Carroll poem ("You are old, Father William, the young man said/And your hair has become very white/And still you incessantly stand on your head/Do you think, at your age, it is right?") The head-standing, you feel, is up to Father William, entirely his business.

At the same time, it has to be acknowledged that most of the old people who have some claims to be regarded as role models are strong on dignity. The autobiographical works of novelist Diana Athill (born 1917), for example - see her current volume, Alive, Alive Oh! - preach exemplary lessons of modesty, restraint and placid acceptance of one's lot, while never failing to warn her readers that the most undignified thing an older person can do is to pretend to be younger than you are, a masquerade that is almost certain to end in embarrassment both to yourself and the young people you are attempting to impress.

It is all very sensible, but simultaneously a touch anaemic. Which is to say that one would like Athill even more if she ever let her hair down and got cross, if she had, for example, not welcomed the woman for whom her boyfriend left her into the house as a new friend but sneered at her choice of lipstick or thrown her out into the street. A great deal of human emotion, after all, can be quietly anaesthetised by "dignity", and the 80-year-old who settles, instead, for a kind of mischievous whimsicality can nearly always be sure of a hearing. It is the spirit that imbues Jenny Joseph's much anthologised poem, "Warning":
"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired ..."
In the same vein, I once, at one of those Oldie of the Year lunches which Corbyn didn't have time to attend, witnessed his former party colleague Barbara Castle making a speech. Baroness Castle, then well over 80, stumped up to the lectern in a dazzling orange costume that might have been thought injudicious for a woman half her age, waved her stick threateningly then harangued us on the topic of why, as she put it, she "refused to die".

It was a bravura performance, that, far more than many of her political exploits, seemed to reveal Castle as a human being. On the other hand, the line between a mischievous whimsicality and making an exhibition of yourself is not always easily drawn. The theory of Joseph's poem is, after all, far more attractive than the reality of having a mother who sat down on the pavement when she was tired and spent her pension on brandy.

Doubtless the trick is to combine dignity with sufficient humour to undermine it whenever staidness threatens. In his biography of the literary critic VS Pritchett, Jeremy Treglown records the memories of Claire Tomalin who, while visiting Pritchett's house came upon his wife, Dorothy, laying an elegant table for two: "It was my first view of how an old couple can have a good life together in which things are rather carefully thought out. I was impressed by it."

And yet Pritchett's sense of mischief kept up. Talking to a friend about a book which urged older couples wanting to refresh their relationship to make love whenever and wherever they felt the need, he is supposed to have remarked "Well, we shan't be visiting that restaurant again."

It is all a far cry from De Niro as Grandpa Dick tail-chasing in Florida. There is, of course, an alternative theory which holds that De Niro, in choosing to appear in US teen comedies, is deliberately subverting and exposing the behavioural gutter in which they repose. Alas, then, that the critics are unanimous in diagnosing the catastrophic loss of a quality valued in young and old alike - judgement.

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The tricky art of ageing disgracefully: Who is getting it right?

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It was a good week for the over-65s. The Noise of Time, the new novel by Julian Barnes (born 1946) soared to the top of the Sunday Times fiction chart. It was scarcely possible to switch on Radio 4 without hearing a reference to or an interview with Joan Bakewell (born 1933) whose autobiography Stop the Clocks is currently crowding out the bookshop shelves.

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(Photo: Getty)

Supermum Jo Pavey has proved she can run rings round younger rivals - by winning her first gold medal at the age of 40.

To thundering applause, Jo held off an athlete 16 years her junior to lift the 10,000 metres crown in 32 minutes and 22.39 seconds at the European Championships.

The mother-of-two from Exeter became the oldest woman to win a European gold. "I'm definitely still enjoying it," said Jo, who turns 41 next month. But 40 is only 'old' by standards in athletics.

Elsewhere there is no shortage of those achieving later in life. From climbing Everest, to giving birth, to rocketing into space, age is no barrier.

Proving good things come to those who wait - and age really is just a number - we could all learn a thing or two from these intrepid achievers who prove you're never too old...

...to pass a driving test

The oldest person to pass a driving test is the late Lord Renton, a Tory peer and former minister, who did so shortly before his 95th birthday in 2003.

He'd actually been driving since the early 1930s but back then there was no formal driving test.

Older drivers face no restrictions apart from being obliged to renew their licence every three years after their 70th birthday.

...to win an Oscar

The oldest male and female Oscar winners are Jessica Tandy, at the age of 80, and Christopher Plummer, aged 82.

Jessica, a British-American stage and film actress, enjoyed a 67-year career before her death in 1994. She appeared in more than 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV.

She won her Oscar for 1989's Driving Miss Daisy for which she also received a coveted BAFTA and a Golden Globe.

Christopher Plummer made his film debut in 1958's Stage Struck. The Canadian is probably best known as widower Captain von Trapp, who sings Edelweiss in the hit 1965 musical film The Sound of Music.

He won numerous awards over his seven-decade career but his first Oscar came for Best Supporting Actor in, ironically, Beginners in 2012.

...to be Prime Minister

The oldest person to become PM was Lord Palmerston at the age of 71. Born in 1784, he entered the House of Commons at the age of 23. For 20 years he was a junior minister in a Tory government before changing parties, becoming the most successful Whig Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister in 1855.

Serving twice as PM, he was the most recent to die on office. After catching a chill that led to a violent fever he died, aged 80, in 1865.

Palmerston was only the fourth non royal to be given a state funeral - after Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington.

...to go to the North Pole

With temperatures plummeting to −43 °C the North Pole is a tough environment for anyone. But Dorothy Davenhill Hirsch, 89, became the oldest person to visit aboard the Russian Nuclear Ice Breaker Yamal in 2004.

...top the album chart

Singer Dame Vera Lynn made British chart history this year by becoming the oldest living artist to reach the Top 20.

The Forces' Sweetheart, who celebrated her 97th birthday in March, entered the UK's Official Albums Chart at number 13 with Vera Lynn: National Treasure and then topped it.

...to be a doctor

Wisdom comes with age and Dr Leila Denmark certainly had both on her side. The American paediatrician was still working until her retirement on May 2001 at the age of 103.

She was also a super centenarian, living to be 114 years old.

...to start school

Former Mau Mau fighter Kimani Maruge enrolled in the first year at the age of 84 on January 12, 2004. He said the Kenyan government's announcement of universal and free elementary education in 2003 prompted him to learn to read. And he didn't stop there. In 2005 Maruge was elected head boy. He did have maturity on his side...

...to run a marathon

Oldest woman to complete a marathon was Gladys Burrill from Hawaii, who was 92 years old.

She power walked and jogged the Honolulu Marathon in nine hours 53 minutes, earning herself the nickname "Gladyator".

She had run her first marathon aged 86.

...to get a pilot's licence

Retired Lt Col James C Warren is a former navigator of the Tuskegee Airmen - the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces.

At the ripe old age of 87 he became the world's oldest person to receive his pilot's licence.

...to climb Everest

An 80-year old Japanese mountaineer reached the summit of Mount Everest last year - and incredibly even did it after heart surgery. Yuichiro Miura, first climbed Everest when he was 70 and then again at 75. After his last climbed he said: "I think three times is enough."

In 1970, while still a youngster, Miura skiied down Everest, using a parachute to slow his descent.

...to get a book published

Bertha Wood, born in 1905, had her first book, Fresh Air and Fun: The Story of a Blackpool Holiday Camp published on her 100th birthday on June 20, 2005. The book is based on her memoirs, which she began writing at the age of 90. Talk about procrastinating...

...to go into space

John Glenn made history when, at the age of 77, he became the oldest person to travel in space.

Born on July 18, 1921, the American had been a pilot and a US senator when he was selected for the Mercury Seven - the elite Military test pilots picked by NASA to operate the Mercury spacecraft and become the first US astronauts.

...to do a bungee jump

At 96, South African Mohr Keet became the oldest bungee jumper ever. Disproving any myth that you become more fearful as you get older, he jumped from South Africa's Western Cape, which has a 708ft drop. It was his fifth jump and the pensioner also admitted to enjoying white water rafting and parachuting. You only live once.

...to give birth

At 66, Elizabeth Adeney from Suffolk became Britain's oldest mum when she gave birth to a son in 2009. She had undergone IVF treatment in Ukraine. Carole Hobson from Kent will be 62 this month - but on Christmas Eve 2010 became Britain's oldest mother of twins. Freida and Matthew were conceived using donor embryos at an Indian clinic following four failed IVF attempts. The oldest mum in the world is Rajo Devi Lohan who gave birth in 2008 aged 69. The Indian, who fell pregnant following IVF treatment, nearly died from complications during delivery.

...to be a dad

Raymond Calvert, 79, was overjoyed at the birth of son Jamie Rai with partner Charlotte, 25, in 2010. The retired Lancashire market trader also has six grown-up children.

But he's got nothing on the world's oldest dad.

Indian farmer Ramjeet Raghav, became a dad at the age of 94 in 2010 when wife Shakuntala gave birth, aged 58, to their son Vikramjeet.

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Never too old: Achieving great things when supposedly 'past it'

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Supermum Jo Pavey has proved she can run rings round younger rivals - by winning her first gold medal at the age of 40. To thundering applause, Jo held off an athlete 16 years her junior to lift the 10,000 metres crown in 32 minutes and 22.39 seconds at the European Championships.

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growing old disgracefully - a network for older women - Growing Old Disgracefully

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growing old disgracefully is an older women's network. We come together to have fun, to share our experiences and knowledge, become a member today.

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AN 84-year-old is just one of 64 silver-haired criminals convicted for crimes in the last 12-months.

Drug supply and possession, harassment and outraging public decency are just some of the crimes committed by the "Saga louts."

Those collared by the cops are aged between 65 and 84, figures reveal.

Theft ranked as the number one crime committed in this age bracket in south Cumbria, followed by assault, having a dangerous dog and harassment.

In the west of the county theft was also the top crime, followed by assault and causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress.

The "grey crime" trend appears to be an international one.

Hugh Tomlinson, deputy chief officer of Age UK South Lakeland, said they had seen a massive increase in the amount of elderly people seeking welfare advice and being directed to food banks in the last 18 months.

He added that it was an issue across south and west Cumbria with 42 per cent of pensioners saying they were worried how they could manage on their current income.

Mr Tomlinson added: "There is a reason that petty crime like theft such as shoplifting could be happening. In south Cumbria there seems to be a general consensus that the biggest worry the elderly have here is finding someone to clean their pool but this is just not the case.

"For the first time here at Age UK we have had to set up a debt advice service and over the last 18-months have that we have been directing to food banks. We have also seen a 37 per cent increase in the number of people seeking welfare benefits has just gone up and up and up.

"A ride in theft cases could be as a direct result of people being in dire straits. But other crimes are simply down to there being a mix of people in every age bracket who are nice or just not nice.

"The majority of elderly people are on a fixed income yet rent and bills and other outgoings continue to rise. It's not like they have coping mechanism like you are I by simply taking another job to earn extra money. That's just not an option to some aged 75.

"There are some who are going without food or heating yet have £3,000 tucked a way in the bank in case the sky falls in. They live in destitution and then end up in A&E.

"There could be some crimes down to undiagnosed early onset dementia where they simply forget to pay but in general I think crimes such as theft are because people are desperate."

South Cumbria superintendent said: "Cumbria Police work to keep people safe and remove from our communities anyone who poses a threat or causes harm. Our teams of officers and detectives work hard to trace these offenders and bring them to justice, and age is no deterrent to prosecution."

READ MORE: Ageing populations and Alzheimer's link to rise in pensioner-criminals

READ MORE: Silver-haired jewel thieves made off with a £14m haul

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Drug-dealing, thieving OAP criminals in Cumbria

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AN 84-year-old is just one of 64 silver-haired criminals convicted for crimes in the last 12-months. Drug supply and possession, harassment and outraging public decency are just some of the crimes committed by the "Saga louts." Those collared by the cops are aged between 65 and 84, figures reveal.

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"Melanie Hamrick & Mick Jagger's son was born today in New York and they are both delighted.

"Mick was at the hospital for the arrival. Mother and baby are doing well and we request that the media respect their privacy at this time," Fran Curtis, the long-time publicist for the Rolling Stones, said in a statement.

The 73-year-old singer already has seven children with previous partners, as well as five grandchildren, and he became a great-grandfather in May 2014.

Jagger and Hamrick, 29, began dating about two years ago, according to media reports.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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"Melanie Hamrick & Mick Jagger's son was born today in New York and they are both delighted. "Mick was at the hospital for the arrival. Mother and baby are doing well and we request that the media respect their privacy at this time," Fran Curtis, the long-time publicist for the Rolling Stones, said in a statement.

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A D-day veteran who jumped 15,000ft from a plane has become the oldest person in the world to skydive - at the age of 101 and 38 days.

Bryson William Verdun Hayes, known as Verdun, broke the world record on Sunday, completing a tandem skydive with three generations of his family at an airfield in Honiton, Devon.

As he touched down, the former lance corporal in the Royal Signals said "hooray" and added that he was feeling "absolutely over the moon" at completing the challenge.

The great-grandfather tried skydiving for the first time when he reached 100, but breaking the British record for the oldest skydiver was not enough for him.

Hayes, who said a parachute jump was something he had wanted to do since he turned 90 - but was talked out of it then by his late wife - was determined to take the world record and beat its previous holder, Canadian Armand Gendreau who skydived in June 2013 aged 101 and three days.

When asked how he was feeling prior to Sunday's jump, Hayes replied with a stoic "all right" and said he was looking forward to the experience.

He took to the skies with 10 members of his family at Skydive Buzz in Dunkeswell, all raising money for the Royal British Legion. The youngest skydiver was Stanley, 16, Hayes' great-grandson, while his grandson Roger, 50, son Bryan, 74 and great-granddaughter Ellie, 21, were also among those who took the leap.

Prior to the skydive, his daughter, Lin Tattersall, said: "He's made up his own mind that he wants to do it again, and I am extremely proud of the reasoning behind it."

Hayes, from Croyde, Devon, served in the army during the second world war and was presented with a Légion d'honneur for his heroic actions in Holland, Belgium, Germany and in Normandy, France.

He was named Verdun after his father, Joseph Hayes, who served in the first world war as a sapper with the Royal Engineers and who fought during the Battle of the Somme, wrote home to his pregnant wife, Mary, from the front line suggesting they call their child Verdun after the 1916 battle.

Hayes served as a signaller and wireless operator for the Royal Signals during the second world war. He returned to Normandy in 2016 as a beneficiary of the Royal British Legion's Remembrance Travel arm.

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Hayes during his skydive, in which he became the oldest person in the world to jump 15,000ft from a plane. Photograph: Skydive Buzz/PA

During the war, Hayes sustained shrapnel injuries to his ribs and hands in an explosion that killed his friend, Sgt Edgar Robertson.

He said: "How I came home from WWII I do not know. I was so near to the edge of everything. I lost any amount of friends in no time at all really. I just didn't think I would ever return home."

A spokesman for the Royal British Legion said Hayes would be celebrating with a glass of champagne.

He said: "We are very proud of Verdun's achievements and his family's support for the Royal British Legion and the money raised recognises the service and sacrifice made across all generations of the British armed forces.

"The money raised will help support individuals and families from across the generations of our armed forces community."

Members of the family have separate online donation pages but Hayes, who hoped to raise £1,000 has already beaten his target and the current total on Virgin Money Giving stands at more than £1,600.

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D-day veteran becomes world's oldest skydiver at 101 and 38 days

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A D-day veteran who jumped 15,000ft from a plane has become the oldest person in the world to skydive - at the age of 101 and 38 days. Bryson William Verdun Hayes, known as Verdun, broke the world record on Sunday, completing a tandem skydive with three generations of his family at an airfield in Honiton, Devon.

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If you're plodding through your 30s, 40s or 50s and feel that life hasn't really begun, just be patient, young'un.

Sixty is the new launchpad year for "adventure, opportunity and change" according to a fresh report by social scientists.

Studying for a degree, starting a business or flitting off on a long-deserved gap-year (or why not make it a gap-decade!) the report found that today's sexagenarians have ambitious plans and the confidence of people in their prime.

There have always been high achievers between 60 and 100 who crowned a career with their best-ever work or chose a whole new life and nailed it.

As our life-expectancy improves it is the only way.

Golf, cruising and tending the roses were fine for a five-year retirement but try doing that for 30 years and you'd be better off in the ground.

No, watch your waistline, dodge the medical show-stoppers and we can all be like the late-bloomers here.

LEARNING
More British people are going to college after retirement now that the age limit on student loans to cover tuition fees has been lifted but some folk have more catching up to do than others.

Priscilla Sitienei, a great-great-grandmother and former midwife in Kenya, enrolled in primary school at the age of 90.

Think of the guts it took to walk into that classroom if you are worried about being the oldest student on campus.

Even Socrates, one of history's greatest know-alls, understood he could still learn and started on music in his 60s.
LOVE
Divorce among the over-60s has risen since 1990 according to the Office for National Statistics while falling among the younger population.

On the bright side, one divorce creates two vacancies and new love is always possible.

At 92, Marjorie Liggins from Sheffield married her 86-year-old dancing partner Norman Camm.

The wedding took just six weeks to plan - at 92 who needs a long engagement?

Even Gloria Steinem, who claimed "a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle", finally got married for the first time at 66.

Bereavement also inspires change.

After his wife died Jim Robertson, of Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire, became at 69 the oldest person so far to have gender-reassignment surgery and lived happily as Gladys Paterson.

SPORT
Champion runner Fauja Singh, from Ilford, has a British Empire Medal and a telegram from the Queen.

At 100 his marathon time was a little over eight hours so he's slowed down somewhat since he was 92 when he could do the 26 miles in five hours, 40 minutes.

There are lots of inspiring stories of achievements by older athletes but relating them might only suggest that physical fitness at 70 and beyond is exceptional.

It isn't. It is normal barring major illnesses - if you work for it.

US military scientists monitored a large research group of soldiers for decades after they left the army as lean young men.

Some had stayed fit at 60, others had lived like slobs.

They put both sorts through an uncompromising boot camp and after a few weeks the slobs were in the same excellent physical condition as their fit counterparts.

ADVENTURE
A marathon at 71 is good going, a 156-mile run across the Sahara desert?

Everest at 65?

That's Sir Ranulph Fiennes for you.

Fiennes is a great inspiration for the senior adventurer because he doesn't make it look too easy.

Heart surgery, diabetes, frostbite and bereavement, he's had the lot.

He proves that you can keep achieving even if health and family life don't give you a smooth ride.

At 72 aviatrix Margaret Ringenberg completed the Round-the-World Air Race.

Yet sometimes adventure comes unsolicited. Jessamine Skuse smelled smoke from her neighbour's flat in Bristol one evening, forced her way in and dragged him to safety before the fire could take hold.

She was awarded a Royal Humane Society bravery award at the age of 92.

WRITING
People who have been at the top of their field sometimes use their later years to write up all their expertise.

Hardinge Giffard, 1st Earl of Halsbury, sat down to pen a 20-volume encyclopaedia of English law when he was 90.

Peter Roget didn't even start working on his thesaurus until he was 61.

Great work but it is better to live than write and if you must write it is better to write about pirates.

Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe, his first novel and perhaps the first-ever modern novel, at 60.

Patrick O'Brian only hit his stride as a writer with his Master And Commander sea stories when he was 65.

Mary Wesley wrote 10 bestsellers including The Camomile Lawn after she was 70.

Writing is one career where it is best to be a late bloomer.

Think of novelists such as Martin Amis who start brilliantly in their early 20s and then embark on a weary, 40-year journey up themselves.

THE STAGE
Dame Judi Dench was a very distinguished stage actress but jumped to the parallel universe of the movies only in her 60s, playing to millions instead of thousands in the Bond films.

Comedian Lynn Ruth Miller broke into stand-up at 70, won an Edinburgh Fringe award but lost to a barnstorming dog on Britain's Got Talent.

Caroline Melliar-Smith, from Cheshire, took up acting after retirement and has landed roles in radio drama and two films including 2011 comedy The Best Little Whorehouse In Rochdale.

She now gives talks to the Women's Institutes, encouraging others to fulfil their life's ambitions.

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Success at 60 plus: A showcase of great achievements from late-bloomers

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If you're plodding through your 30s, 40s or 50s and feel that life hasn't really begun, just be patient, young'un. Sixty is the new launchpad year for "adventure, opportunity and change" according to a fresh report by social scientists. Studying for a degree, starting a business or flitting off on a long-deserved gap-year (or why not make it a gap-decade!)