Richard Powell - Cheshire

Richard Powell who has just celebrated his 103rd birthday says his own recipe for dandelion and burdock has helped keep him fit and well.

He said: “I used to make drinks for the family business and I put stinging nettles in my dandelion and burdock. It’s full of chlorophyll and is very good for you. The local doctor always took plenty of bottles and gave them as medicine and my ginger beer was as good as champagne.”

After changing career to work on a farm, Richard – originally from Salford – wasn’t called to serve in the Army during the Second World War but nevertheless had a narrow escape when a bomb exploded outside his front door.

Richard still lives independently but regularly visits the Leftwich Green Community Support Centre in Cheshire where he has taken part in Fit as a Fiddle gentle exercise sessions where he enjoyed a slice of cake and a glass of sherry with his friends to toast his 103rd birthday.

Liz Heath, senior carer at the centre described Richard as ‘a breath of fresh air’. Richard is a really sociable man,” she said. “He never complains and always has a smile on his face. He loves a sing-along and reciting poetry and entertains everyone with his tales.

“He is bright as a button and takes part in the quizzes we have – he gets more questions right than me.”

Mike Barnes from the Fit as a Fiddle’s ARCH project in Cheshire commented that “for Richard to be 103 and still want to take part in activities and to want to learn new things is a credit to him, the activities provided by Fit as a Fiddle enable older people to take part in lots of activities depending on their needs.

In his spare time, Richard surfs the internet, enjoys watching cricket and listening to music, especially Mozart and Beethoven. Richard has seen 25 changes of Prime Minister since Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman was in power for the Liberals back in 1907.