logo
'Dancing queen' wants donations for 100th birthday

'Dancing queen' wants donations for 100th birthday

Yahoo4 days ago
For her 100th birthday, a woman in south-east London wants donations to a hospice instead of gifts - and plans to dance to ABBA at her birthday party.
Gwynneth Pedler, from Dulwich said she "set a target of getting to a hundred" and has learned a routine for her chosen song, Dancing Queen.
In the run up to her special day, she has received physiotherapy at St Christopher's Hospice in Sydenham and credits them with getting back the use of her left leg after an accident.
Born on 23 July 1925, Ms Pedler, a former head teacher of three schools and an air mechanic in the WRNS, once "accidentally" invited a whole class of students in Poland to come and stay with her in England. She also admits to being "a rather unruly child" as an evacuee during World War Two.
Oldest person in the UK: How has life changed?
The times and life of the world's oldest man
When the physiotherapists asked if she had a goal, she told them she wanted to do a routine to ABBA's Dancing Queen at her birthday party, attended by more than 100 people, to celebrate her centenary.
She said, "I thought it was ambitious but they said no - it wasn't."
So they have choreographed steps and wiggles with sweeping arm movements, which has also helped build strength and balance.
She said: "They do such wonderful work - not only with physiotherapy and art therapy - but all the other things that they do, in all sorts of other areas. The drivers are so calm, so helpful - it's a really lovely atmosphere."
As a child, she was evacuated from London to the countryside during WWII, where she recalls a very long walk to school, something she wasn't keen on.
"So we didn't go! We went out to where the farmer was thrashing the corn and he let us have a stick - to hit the rats as they ran out," she chuckles.
It was her time in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) that taught her discipline, she says. And there followed a career in education - one of the things she attributes to having had such a long life.
"Keep yourself surrounded by people younger than you and get to know them and socialise with them - because you'll then learn how to be young," she advises.
'I'll get you to England'
After her retirement, Ms Pedler taught English in Poland - and once inadvertently invited her students to stay with her in England. All 27 of them.
"One of them said, 'We've never been to England'. And I said, 'Oh, don't worry, I'll get you to England'," she recalls.
They took that literally and went home to tell their mothers. Word got to the head and rather than cause disappointment, Ms Pedler made it happen.
"I hadn't got room for them - my bungalow was big but it certainly wouldn't fit 27 students. So I borrowed tents from the Scouts, tables to put food on and raised some money."
With an infectious can-do attitude, she talked her neighbours into bringing dinners for the children - for the next fortnight.
"Everybody helped out, all sorts of people. I was just the figurehead really," she says modestly.
Several of her Polish students went on to become teachers themselves and some are coming to her birthday party.
Raising money and awareness for St Christopher's Hospice, is the latest mission in this determined woman's remarkable life.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk
Related internet links
St Christopher's Hospice
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Brothers get first callout together as RNLI volunteers
Brothers get first callout together as RNLI volunteers

Yahoo

time11 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Brothers get first callout together as RNLI volunteers

Two brothers had their first callout together as lifeboat volunteers. Mark and James Nicholls were on Littlehampton RNLI's D-Class lifeboat Spirit of Fidelity when they got the shout on Friday evening (July 25) to take over the tow from Shoreham Harbour RNLI of a 24-foot speedboat that had broken down with three people aboard. Mark and James, with fellow crew members Gavin Simmons and Stuart Taylor, met Shoreham Harbour's Enid Collett all weather lifeboat at sea. Mr Taylor boarded the broken down boat and the crew towed it back to the safety of Littlehampton Marina. Mark has been volunteering at Littlehampton RNLI since November 2021. James joined in November last year. Read more Bikers asked to join ride for young dad with 'heart of gold' who died in crash Indian restaurant gets one-star food hygiene rating following inspection The locations of all the speed cameras in town - including mobile ones Mum, 20, diagnosed with stage four cancer just three months after giving birth Mark, who was helm for the shout, said: 'My brother and I have been on the water since we were kids, both learning to sail at the age of eight. We've each built careers on the sea, and now, two decades later, it's incredibly rewarding to serve our community by saving lives on the very waters where we first learned to sail. 'The bond among the RNLI crew is truly unique – and being able to share that experience with my brother makes it even more special.' James added: 'It seems funny that this was our first official shout together because we've worked together in Littlehampton Harbour in various different ways for some years now. As RNLI crew, it's good to already have an understanding of how Mark likes to work and approach different shouts as it makes everything go so much smoother when you're out on a boat.'

£274m of Child Trust Fund cash has not been claimed – here's how to get yours
£274m of Child Trust Fund cash has not been claimed – here's how to get yours

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

£274m of Child Trust Fund cash has not been claimed – here's how to get yours

Almost £275m of government-allocated funds are being 'hidden' from disadvantaged young people and going unclaimed, charities have warned. Child Trust Funds (CTFs) are long-term, tax-free savings accounts for people born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, which they can access when they turn 18. Children received around £250 each from the government at the time their CTF was started, or £500 if they were from low-income families or in local authority care. A second top-up was added when the child turned seven years old for those who qualified for Disability Living Allowance between 6 April 2009 and 5 April 2011, or turned seven between 1 September 2009 and 31 July 2010. The accounts could also be added to by a parent, with the average amount held in CTFs totalling around £2,000. If no action was taken by families to claim the accounts when they were set up, they were allocated by HMRC. However, according to The Share Foundation, a charity that helps track down unclaimed funds, more than £400m is sitting unclaimed in HMRC-allocated accounts waiting for people to claim them. And more than half of the accounts belong to young adults on low incomes, with £274m meant for disadvantaged young people left unclaimed. The charity has warned that if no action is taken, there will be nearly £1bn lying dormant and unclaimed for low-income young adults by the end of this parliament. Dawn Smith, 21, said her Child Trust Fund helped her achieve the best grade possible at university, where she was later offered her first job. However, she said it took her over a year to access her fund due to a name change. 'My parents were aware of it, but we had no idea where it was or how much money was in it – we knew nothing,' she said. She then searched online and found The Share Foundation, which helped her to claim her fund. The Share Foundation is calling on the government to implement a new automatic release mechanism to ensure all HMRC-allocated funds are paid out when account holders turn 21 – without the need for them to make a claim. Ms Smith told The Independent: 'I managed to claim mine in the second year of university. I studied music at university in London, which was very expensive. While my parents were doing as much as they could, once I got that trust fund, it all went towards uni. 'It went towards my equipment and anything I could use to get the best grade possible. I used it for things that were very needed at the time. 'It's helped me invest in my future. With having that trust fund helping me do so well, the uni has actually offered me a job, so I'll be a tutor for them.' Chairman of The Share Foundation, Gavin Oldham, described the money as being 'hidden' from young people. He said: 'The government has no funding for low-income young people, not because it lacks intent, but because it lacks the means. So why not release the £400m that is currently sat unclaimed in HMRC-allocated Child Trust Funds belonging to young people aged 21 or over? 'This would provide an immediate resolution at no cost to them – and £274m of this would be delivered immediately to low-income young people.' The proposed changes would mean that if an unclaimed HMRC-allocated fund matched the national insurance number of someone either claiming benefits, on a payroll or student loan system, the money would be released to the corresponding accounts. Labour peer David Blunkett, who has also called for changes to be made, told The Independent: 'A simple means of releasing the money directly to them using modern technology is a no-brainer. The trawl for contact details would be the same as banks uses when checking for 'unclaimed assets' and cross-reference with national insurance numbers would also help. 'Not only would this be a boon to the young people concerned at a moment when they need it most, but also an injection of cash into local economies across the country, which is bound to help the overall economy.' An HMRC spokesperson said it works closely with providers to support young people to track their funds down and every young person is sent information about finding their account with their National Insurance letter. The Treasury has been contacted for a comment. How you can claim your Child Trust Fund cash To find your CTF, the government website advises you to contact your provider directly, if you know who the account is with. If you don't, you can ask HMRC or contact The Share Foundation for help here: Solve the daily Crossword

Mother of Air India crash victim ‘heartbroken' after remains wrongly identified
Mother of Air India crash victim ‘heartbroken' after remains wrongly identified

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Mother of Air India crash victim ‘heartbroken' after remains wrongly identified

The mother of a British Air India crash victim has said her family is 'heartbroken' after receiving news the remains of her son were wrongly identified, The Sunday Times reported. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport on June 12, killing 241 people on board. Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities. Among the British victims were Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, 39, and his husband Jamie, 45, who had been returning to Britain after celebrating their wedding anniversary in India. Mr Greenlaw-Meek's mother, Amanda Donaghey, told The Sunday Times she flew to India after the crash in order to find her son's remains, providing a DNA sample at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital to assist the identification process. Following a match on June 20 last year, she returned to the UK with Mr Greenlaw-Meek's coffin. But on July 5, as Mr Greenlaw-Meek and his husband's families prepared to bury the married couple together, police told Ms Donaghey that DNA tests carried out in the UK showed Mr Greenlaw-Meek's remains were not in the coffin. 'We don't know what poor person is in that casket,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I had my doubts but to be told that was heartbreaking. 'This is an appalling thing to have happened,' she added. 'And we would now like the British Gvernment to do everything in its power to find out, and bring Fiongal home.' It was revealed last week the coffin of another repatriated British victim, 71-year-old Shobhana Patel, contained remains of multiple people, The Sunday Times reported. Mrs Patel was killed alongside her husband Ashok, 74, as they returned to the UK from a Hindu religious trip. Their son Miten Patel told The Sunday Times: 'There may have been a mistake done. 'But for religious reasons we need to make sure my mother is my mother and not somebody else's remains. 'Knowing 100% that it is my mum is very important to us.' Shobhana and Ashok Patel were laid to rest last week, The Sunday Times said. International aviation lawyer James Healey-Pratt, whose firm Keystone Law is representing families of victims of the Air India crash, has told Times Radio the identification issues have raised concerns over the total number of victims whose identities may have been misattributed. 'We know that 12 caskets were repatriated from India to the UK,' he said. 'Of those 12, two had been mishandled, misidentified. 'And so if you extrapolate that sample, you're looking at 40 mishandled remains out of 240. 'So that's a very large number, but we simply don't know. 'And to date, the Indian authorities have not been transparent or helpful about that, which is why there was pressure put on by the families to the FCO and the Prime Minister's office. 'And this was actually mentioned in the meeting at Chequers between Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Modi on Thursday. 'So the families are waiting to hear, first thing next week, about what actions are really being done in India to provide some degree of assurance.' It is understood no blame is being put on any UK agency for the blunders, Mr Healy-Pratt previously told the PA news agency. The only surviving passenger on the plane was Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who previously told The Sun it was a 'miracle' he was alive but felt 'terrible' he could not save his brother Ajay. A preliminary report into the incident from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found both of the plane's fuel switches moved to the 'cut-off' position 'immediately' after take-off, stopping fuel supply to the engine. It has sparked questions over whether the crash was deliberate.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store