My father was a wonderful man, very sensitive, and I’ve tried to be like him. The Christmas after my sister Marion died of tuberculosis he took us to the seaside for the first time. I remember sitting on his shoulders, feeling a warm glow. That was the last time my family experienced Christmas when we felt happy. When I was 14 years old I went to elocution lessons. I realised that my Yorkshire accent would not enable me to better myself in the world. Although my friends and siblings laughed at my efforts, it did benefit me greatly. I’ve never forgotten austerity or the cruelty of the war against fascism. [In the Second World War] I saw a horse drop dead in the street, and before it had become cold there were half a dozen people cutting it to pieces and storing the meat in a bag to take home, as they had nothing to eat. That is hunger. I’m a socialist in the manner of Tom Joad from The Grapes of Wrath – fighting for the little guy. I was astounded at the applause I got after my speech at the Labour convention in Manchester. I believe it is my duty to tell the younger generation that our current politics isn’t right. I can use my voice to get people to realise that when I say that my past can be your future, I really mean it. Military service taught me a lot of discipline that has carried me throughout my life. I get up in the morning and do my warm-up exercises from my tai chi and then I make my bed. I don’t know how many 91-year-olds do that. My wife, Friede, saved my life and kept me as a caring individual. Her maiden name was Edelman, and she had to go to the Nazi government’s racial examiners to check if there was some Jewish blood in there. I was overwhelmed by the death of my wife. We were together for 52 years. I started travelling to get over it. I visited the apartment in Germany where Friede lived when we first met. I stood across the road looking at the doorway. I kept thinking the door might open and she’d step out again. My middle son, Peter, had schizophrenia. When I retired, his psychiatrist said he would be better off living with us in the country. Just before my wife died, Peter and his girlfriend got married. They had a good life for 10 years, when he died from this horrible disease [idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis which causes fatal scarring of the lungs]. It’s pitiful as a parent to watch your son lying in a hospital bed unable to speak and looking at you as if to say: “You rescued me before – why are you not doing it now?” It shouldn’t be considered odd that someone from my era is using Twitter, because it was my generation that invented radar and rocket science. I’ve got about 20,000 followers. I do manage to knock out replies to most people. I think Russell Brand should stick to comedy. To tell young people not to vote is crazy because we’ll get the same old gang in power. Old age is a lonely race towards death because one’s friends and spouse reach the finish line before you. It has been a brilliant ride, and I hope I have time for a few more laps around the track.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 15:11:46 +0000
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