An investment for the future.

Every Saturday,if I'm not away,I call in for lunch at Mike's mum's. Jeanne is an exceptional lady. She always looks beautifully dressed, with her hair carefully styled, and wearing just the right jewellery to complement her ensemble. In fact it is not unusual for people to approach her in the street and tell her how elegant she looks. She is my role model for someone in the autumn of their life. I hope I will be half as sharp, motivated, energetic and completely able when I am her age.

Jeanne, a widow now, makes her own clothes, bakes her own bread, tidies her garden and cleans her own house. She also delivers the local community paper to the houses in her road.

Recently she was a little unwell and she came to stay with us for a week as a bit of a holiday. We worked hard in building up her strength with regular meals plus lots of healthy snacks but we told her we wouldn't want to let he go back to her own house until she was physically fitter. We didn't need to tell her again. Within half a hour she was in training! She walked slowly up and down our stairs, initially twice, then increasing the repetitions each day so that by day eight she could do seven ascents and descents in one go! She was fit enough to go home.

Jeanne will be 87 next month but the fact that she is slim and fit means that she can hold on to her independence for longer. So if you're wondering whether you can be bothered to stick to healthy eating or to do a bit of physical activity today, look at it as an investment into the future.

Exercise is like a savings account, the more that you invest, the greater the dividends.