Thora Beddard

Thora Beddard aged 93 - going on 21: Throughout her life Thora has continuously supported and truly inspired those around her. Thora continues to have considerable influence on all who come into contact with her including her 8 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and 6 great-great grandchildren. Her life is such a rich tapestry. Amongst other things, she has done: At 50 Thora learnt to swim; aged 60 she discovered yoga; on turning 70, in search of something more challenging Thora chose abseiling and later modelled lingerie for the older generation on live TV; in her 80's Thora passed her English GCSE and aged 84 carried the Commonwealth batten in Manchester. Recently, aged 90, she was invited to London to feature in Good Housekeeping magazine about inspirational females with her 9 year old great-granddaughter. A regular visitor to the frail and 'old', Thora is extremely active in her local community. Having penned 6,000 poems and produced many other written articles, 'Thora' speeches (fundraising for charity in memory of her daughter) are legendary and even the broken leg Thora suffered last Christmas didn't daunt her. She reminds us all that she has: "never ever been bored - as she's always made sure she's too busy to be bored". Thora is an outstanding candidate to carry the Olympic batten and it would be a fitting tribute to an astonishing individual, whose life represents an ideal example of munificence, fighting spirit, determination and success to everyone of us.