Watch the video to meet Bob!
Video credit: Daily Mail
England’s oldest man turned 111 recently and he shared with the world a simple secret to a long life.
Bob Weighton was born on March 29, 1908, in Hull and celebrated his eleventy-first birthday (Lord of the Rings fans will get this) at his retirement flat in Alton, Hampshire accompanied by a few of his friends.
And as the birthday greetings started pouring in, there’s one advice he gave back and that’s his one simple secret to living long. And it all boils down to “avoiding dying.” Sounds simple enough.
Speaking to The Mirror, he said: “By avoiding dying – there’s no reason otherwise. I have had the usual scares, flu, influenza, malaria, two or three operations; I ought to be dead but I am a survivor if you like.”
Bob also said that he’s never made a fuss about anything. Not too much, at least. And the lack of stress probably goes a long way towards avoiding death.
He said: “I do not like the attention. I quite like meeting people I have never seen before, that’s one of my delights.
“I like meeting people who have been places and have some understanding of what it means to be human.”
Normally, people at his age would receive a commemorative card from the Queen but he has a socially conscious reason for not wanting to.
This is because he doesn’t want the Crown to spend taxpayer’s money just for some birthday wishes.
He explained: “I do not see why the state should pay for the Queen to send out all these things, it’s not a personal thing.
“I thought that’s enough, but I might consider another one next year if I live that long.”
Of course, the Queen could easily spare some change to send him a card but that’s beside the point.
Bob has three children, 10 grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren. Family reunions must be quite the event.
He also noted how much has changed throughout his life, adding: “Visually and in physical terms, it’s changed enormously, in what human beings are – not at all.
“The basic concerns of human beings of meeting and interacting with other human beings is exactly the same – ‘can this person be trusted?’
“In practical terms, one thing is the speed of travel. In 1933 I traveled to the Far East on a P&O boat to Hong Kong and it took six weeks, now you can fly there in about eight or nine hours.”
But while the world has changed, his reason for living hasn’t. He said: “Promoting human interaction is the motive of my life.”
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