AN "OLD AGE" CENTRE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22166, 20 July 1935, Page 2 (Supplement)

AN "OLD AGE" CENTRE

ENGLISH TOWN'S RECORD What is the secret underlying the remarkable record of longevity of the small Northants town of Desbrough? asks a London journalist. There are 33 married counples and 91 single persons over 70 years of age in the town. I went there to discover the elusive secret. But nobody could toll me not even the town's medical practitioners. " The people here live very quiet lives, one of them said, " and quite a number of those working in the factories possess their own allotments and small-hold-ines. As soou us they finish work they go into the wide, open spaces; but as lor any particular secret, or r<Sa.son. simply cannot give one " Boxers utilise the town as training quarters when preparing for big fights. " Larry Gains, Reggie Meen, and a host of others have all done their preliminary training here," a well-known sportsman told me. . •< Mrs. Matilda Goode, now in her year, has lived there all Jier life. Jwo of her children are widows of more than 65! She does all her own housework, cooks her meals, does not wear glasses., and is wonderfully alert " I feel fine." was her comment, "and am surprised the town has never been boosted as a health resort. 1 ain 6ure ,1 have lived long because the place is s? invigorating," ./ -i' * ill