Post Updated 5th January 2018 to remove old links as they were out of date.
Do I want to live to 100?
Do YOU want to live to 100?
For me personally, I would of course love to get to that age but only if I have my health, my home comforts and with the love of my family and friends around me. Isn’t that want we all want?
Over the last few weeks I seem to have been caught up within this world of asking this question; firstly it started with the BBC programme “How To Stay Young” with the gorgeous 71 years young Angela Rippon co-presenting with a much younger Dr Chris van Tulleken – they both travel the world to see the latest discoveries and experiments that demonstrate that certain cultures that adopt particular activities and foods can help with this. My greatest learning from watching this was “don’t keep doing the same thing” – our brains and bodies love the challenge of all things new, it stretches the grey matter!
They also had a test that both my hubby and I tried; you have to get, from standing position (no shoes), down onto the floor with your legs crossed and then without the help of your arms get back up to standing – you lose “years” if you put a knee down or both. Very funny to do… perhaps not one after you’ve had a glass or two!
And then I got reading this book by Cameron Diaz, The Longevity Book – I thought this was going to be about the latest health kicks in celebrity world, but nope it wasn’t!
What I discovered was a world about how the female body ages, written by Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bark who together embark on a journey to discovery more about their quest to learn about the ageing process. I’m 41 years old and I learnt things about my body that I’m ashamed to say, I didn’t know about! Informative and empowering I think this is a must read for all ladies, especially those who have not yet embarked on the menopause.
I love the fact they have dedicated the book to our own journey; Cameron suggests throughout that they present the facts but everyone is different, and the only person who can help you achieve a healthy and well-balance approach to ageing, is yourself.
The book is in three parts; the first covers of things like the past and the learnings from that time, what scientists have done for us over time and most importantly the benefits we all receive in modern day life, medicine.
Part 2 is the bit I found most interesting; probably because I was learning so much stuff! They cover off topics like “The biological impact of genes, choices and attitudes”, they describe “cellular ageing” and the stage of menopause – which let’s be honest is not usually covered off in any general health books.
The final part actually covered what I thought the book was about originally!! How to build a strong body, information on food, fitness and general well-being. The section on “how to build a stronger brain” just kept reinforcing the positive benefits of continuous learning.
A book to share with your girlfriends, a book to read more than once!
And now for a Lady called Bo…
… Vogue is 100 years old, and Harvey Nichols has chosen to celebrate this by having a photo shoot using a model who is 100 years old, Bo Gilbert.
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| Image from Vogue |
She is wearing bespoke Valentino glasses, a Dries Van Noten coat, a Victoria Beckham top, a Lanvin necklace and trousers by The Row. Doesn’t she look F A B U L O U S !!!
And it goes to prove that the article “26 Is Old In Fashion” by Lauren Milligan for Vogue is a load of nonsense – there should be more older models both in magazines, in brand campaigns and on the catwalk.
The centenarian, from Birmingham, tells her story throughout the film, she talks about her love of clothes, how she likes to make the effort every day to look nice but NOT for the boys. How she would love for hats to come back into daily fashion and I truly love the ending when she gets super excited to see the finished photo, very touching!
Here’s a chance to see the film, and you can see the full ad in June’s edition of Vogue out in shops now.
For those of you who receive my posts by email you need to click here to view the film.
And so you see, if I could be as healthy and as fit as the lovely Bo then the answer is Yes, but let’s not forget that it is important to live for today and make the most out of every opportunity that comes our way – as did Bo when she was asked to model for the very first time, at 100 years young.
If you fancy catching up on “How To Stay Young” you can watch it on BBC iPlayer by clicking here.
