Ruth Steinberg spoke to Peter and Paul together, about ways to stay active during the pandemic. 
 
Ruth: Tell me about how you stay fit? 
 
Peter: I’m a very active man. I have been all my life. I’m 85 next week and don’t do so bad. I try and keep as fit as I possibly can. Because of Covid I’ve had to go down into lockdown, so I’m not getting out as much. I still do exercise. I work in the house and garden and things like that. I like playing golf with my grandson Paul. I used to go long distance walking. I’ve been to Scotland, Ireland and Wales walking. I’ve done all the Lake District. I’ve climbed all the big mountains in Ireland. I started all this when I was 50 years old. Before that I played golf and I liked fishing as well. I’ve looked after my kids and the grandchildren - I’m a big helper of people. I help them with their money, with advice. I do gardens for people. I’ve got 3 gardens to do both sides of me. 
 
Paul: You do mine too.
 
Peter: And I like travelling. I’ve been all over Europe travelling. Down to the South of France.
 
Ruth: Lockdown must have been really difficult. 
 
Peter: It has been. I’ve had 12 months when I can’t do the kind of exercise I used to do. I’ve lost it. If I tried to do a 10 or 12 mile walk, I don’t think I could do it. I used to go down from Shipley to Leeds regularly. It’s 13 mile. As soon as we come out of lockdown I’m going to have a bash at that. I do it in 3 hours and 40 minutes. That’s 3 miles an hour, a very good speed. I’m a walker and I know how to do it, when to rest, when to rehydrate and things like that. I like puzzles. I do sudoku and play chess. I look after my mind and I look after my body. One of my downfalls is my diet. I like food so much. I’m on a restricted diet as it is. I’ve just had a diabetic test. It’s gone up a bit. I’ve not been able to burn the thing off. I can sit in front of the television doing mind games. It’s not doing me good physically. 

Ruth: What would your advice be to people who are stuck inside? 

Peter: Get out and do some exercise. What I did one day was do a walk from West Kirby to somewhere in the Wirral and took photos all the way. I put them on the internet and it got 15 to 20 thousand hits. I think I did a bit of good there. I joined a walking club that went on Dalesrail. I’ve been a member for 30 years. How I got on to that was I worked on the railroad as a train driver. I used to take the trains up up into the Dales. I thought I will come here when I can. When you go walking you have to plan it all out. You can plan to get a bus to the top of a mountain and then walk down. I used to walk up hills when I was a young lad. 
 
Ruth: Paul, you’re leading classes online, is that right? 
 
Paul: Yes, through Leeds City Council Active Leeds programmes. I do the Keeping Well at Home exercise classes and some use the Keep Moving app as well. 
 
Peter: I’ve got things from Paul. He said just have a look the leaflet Keeping Well at Home. There’s loads of tips in it. I can always recommend this.I’m a doer not a reader. I’d sooner do it myself. I’d rather go out walking. You can lose the will. I’ve got loads of things I can do. I’ve got a sewing machine and I’m going to make some curtains. I’m building a shed in the garden for my carpentry work, 16 ft long by 8ft high. That’s my next project that. There’s always something to do. If I feel a bit fed up there’s always something, I can turn to to occupy my mind. If lockdown wasn’t there I would be outside. 
 
Ruth: Paul, I bet you’re proud of your grandad. 
 
Paul: I certainly am. He’s one in a million. We both keen golfers. He’s the only person I know that did two hole-in-ones in one day. Between the first and second lock down we did a few rounds of golf.  We go to the driving range when we can. 
 
Peter: I’m a good mixer I can talk to anybody. You can talk and see what they think. I saw a lot as a driver on the trains. I’d talk to people. All my life I’ve helped people. I’m on my own most of the day. I’m ok. I feel comfortable in what I’m doing. You’ve got to do the right thing. 
 
Ruth: Finally, what would you like to say to people reading this? 
 
Peter: In the olden days you’d write a letter, and it would take a few days to get there. Now you can talk to people on the other side of the planet. What I have seen in my life - you wouldn’t believe it.  I’ve had operations on my heart and had pacemakers put in. I would have been dead years ago. Modern science is wonderful. Read this booklet Keeping Well at Home and give it a try. Even grandkids could learn something.