The 82-Year-Old Skydiver

Other people would laugh at me, in fact all my friends say we worry about you Dilys, you know. And even coming up this weekend somebody said, oh now be careful. I think that's ridiculous, what a better way to die, having fun. I am a world record holder for being the oldest woman skydiver in the world. I think if there's only one way, it's down. So even if I've got slight absentmindedness, I'll be alright. I don't worry that my carpet is rather threadbare and old, as long as I'm skydiving. But I do get scared, I mean I used to be so scared that I would drive the car up to the drop zone and think I could go back. I don't have to stay here, but I knew if I went away I'd never come back again. So the ecstasy was more than the fear. The first time I jumped out of an aeroplane I thought I was going to die. And as I fell I thought, what a mistake, this is death. I can remember it now. And then the next second I thought, oh I'm flying. Skydiving gives you the most intense, wonderful feeling. I mean people come down from the sand and jump and they all say it's better than sex. I mean take that the way you like it, but it is. I think sometimes we get pulled down by fear, we get pulled down by necessity of work, and it's a mistake. But having done skydive, I learned courage, I learned to go. And that has been the biggest turning point in my life. And I think the courage has helped me to run a charity, which from scratch is very difficult. They say most charities fail after three years. And I knew that I had a program that affected for the good very profoundly disabled people, made them really much happier. And that thrills me. I believe we all have a purpose in life. And I believe the Text Trust is my purpose. I don't have much time to think about the past. I'm so busy in the present and just going into the future that the past recedes. And I am enjoying so much these days remembering the past, remembering even the difficult times, but seeing how they all fell into a pattern, which now I'm glad of. You're a bird for 50 seconds. And imagine you can go 140 miles an hour, you can do a barrel roll, you can flick, you can move here, you can move there, you can join up with people. It is unbelievably wonderful. I won't stop till I know it's not safe. But for now, I'm safe and I can do it and I will do it for as long as I can.