The Watcher

He missed 2 episodes of JAM in 2018 & 2 more last year. There seems to have been a much longer period between series of JAM than usual - in recent years there are 6 or 8 shows of JAM (recorded 2 at a time) and then a series of a different show lasting about 6 or 8 weeks then back to JAM. Additionally, on his 96th birthday (Oct 2019?) he was photographed between his wife & The Duchess of Cornwall in a wheelchair & it was also widely reported that due to a fall he was unable to particpate in a carol concert last December that his daughter has been involved in for many years and in which he reads a lesson.

Obituaries in at least 2 British national papers today for Anne Robson aged 108. She was not surprisingly Britain's oldest female WW2 veteran but she was also a senior commander for the War Office at Aldershot. She was responsible for the physical fitness of all women in the Auxiliary Territorial Service based in England, Scotland & Germany. Her obituaries appear to have been reduced due to the extensive ones for Terry Jones. However, the one in The Times says that "She lived through the suffragette movement, saw the radical advance of women's rights during her lifetime and lived through the tenure of 21 British prime ministers, four monarchs and two world wars."

How many centenarian couples have there been when at least one has been really famous or perhaps both have been famous? I don't mean couples who are only famous for their age such as the Chands. The obvious two are Bob and Dolores Hope who both reached 100. Currently Kirk and Ann Douglas are both at least 100.

Guinness World Records, Ripley's Amazing etc never acknowledged the Chands. Their 90th wedding anniversary (no name for it as 'oak' for 80th is the furthest records go) went unrecorded except by Wiki and various newspapers. Guinness & most sources state the record W/A is 86 years. Additionally, the site that records the oldest living Britons (there are about 170 aged 107 and above) refused to add Mr Chand a few years ago when I suggested him as one of the oldest men in the country due to sources being unable to be verified.

She appears on various lists of the oldest ever European royalty as still alive and the next oldest who is still alive is not surprisingly Prince Philip.

On 31 March 2020 Princess Felicitas of Salm-Horstmar will be 100. She is currently the 6th oldest ever European royal. The list is headed by the last (& Dowager) Duchess of Gloucester (102) & the Queen Mother (101).

Agree that Roberta McCain is as relevant as Bill Gates Senior - but she is certain to get an obit in the quality papers in this country. She is also the widow of a Wiki entry naval commander who died decades ago as well as the mother of the senator (& Trump nemesis) John. However the oldest ever Test cricketer (female) & the oldest ever first class cricketer (male) are as newsworthy as the oldest ever in other sports.

Good thoughtful list but the following should have been very close to making it - but probably not making it to 2021: Eileen Ash 107 (Former England test cricketer) Roberta McCain 107 (Twin sister lived to 99 & mother of the late politician John) John Manners 105 (Oldest ever first class cricketer & only person alive who played FC cricket before WW2) June Spencer 100 (Archers actress) Clarissa Eden 99 (Widow of Anthony who was prime minister 60 years ago) Nicholas Parsons 96 (actor & game show host) Glynis Johns 96 (Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins) Kenneth Kaunda 95 (former political leader) John Woodcock 93 (cricket writer including decades on The Times; paternal grandfather was born before the Battle of Waterloo) Ethel Kennedy 91 (last survivor of her generation of the Kennedy clan - widowed sInce 1968)

A trio of Archers actresses:(PC - actors) Lesley Saweard (85) - the world's longest active soap actor - at 62 years this is longer even than William Roache (59 years) Patricia Greene (88) - Jill Archer, matriarch of the family, 2nd wife of the late Phil Archer & daughter-in-law of Dan & Doris Archer - 2nd longest active soap actor (approx 60 years) June Spencer (100) - world's oldest active soap actor

The more that comes out about Prince Andrew - not only the Epstein allegations but it is alleged that at least one enterprise he was involved with meant he gained financially - it should not be mentioned to Prince Philip in hospital as it could cause a serious relapse. One wag online thought a visit from Fergie (aka The Duchess) dressed as Santa's Helper might prove the final straw for the Duke of Edinburgh!

Yes, he was the youngest by some years & one sister died in a plane crash aged 26 - apparently having just given birth to add to the tragedy - although some think the crash was due to the pilot trying to land urgently due to her condition. However, his father was only 62 when he died, & apart from the sister who reached 87, the others were only 63 & 76. It is generally believed that due to the Russian royal family being 'abandoned' by George V, it was felt that the same could not happen to 'Greek Phil' - otherwise he may have only been a footnote in history & rumoured to have been born on a kitchen table.

His 4 sisters died in 1937 (!), 1969, 1981 & 2001 so difficult to know where he gets his longevity from.

So near but so far! Really this text should be in a fascinating range of fonts that were created by the Zapfs! So she died 11 days after my recommendation.

Patricia Driscoll is 92 today. Not a well-known name but she will get many obituaries when she dies. An actress but best known for presenting Picture Book over 60 years ago as one of the 5 Watch with Mother programmes - the others being Andy Pandy, The Woodentops, Rag, Tag and Bobtail and The Flower Pot Men.

Arthur Scargill

John Manners at 105 still keeps going and having played first class cricket in 1936 is surprisingly the only man alive to have played first class cricket before WW2.

We should know them because between them they created/patented/invented at least 4 typeface/fonts. Although Zapfino, Aldus and Optima may not be known to many, PALATINO is extremely well known. "Just My Type" by award-winning author Simon Garfield gives further information.

The Zapf typeface is known worldwide.

Gudrun Zapf von Hesse, the world renowned calligrapher & typographer is 102 on 2 Jan, 2020. Surely worth a pick as her even more famous type-face creator husband Hermann Zapf (1918-2015) seemed to escape selection over the years.

Eileen Ash (nee Whelan) [108- oldest ever test cricketer], John Manners (105 - oldest ever first class cricketer & only surviving first class cricketer to play before WW2), John Woodcock (93 - cricket journalist whose father was born in 1857 & whose paternal grandfather was born before the Battle of Waterloo), Sheila Mercer (100 - former Emmerdale actress & sister of Brian Rix), June Spencer (100 - actress in The Archers), Clarissa Eden (widow of a former prime minister), Michael Medwin (96 & actor & boss of Trevor Eve in Shoestring), Glynis Johns (96 & Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins but too frail for a cameo in the recent Mary Poppins film), Tony Britton(95 - actor), Peregrine Worsthorne ( 96 next month & former editor, journalist & political commentator - esp on election nights), Wally Fawkes (artist of Flook for 35 years in Daily Mail & then in Daily Mirror, Christopher Tolkein (94 & author), Desmond Morris (91 & naturalist), Doreen Mantle (93 & actress).

Eileen Whelan (108 year old test cricketer), Roberta McCain (107), John Manners (105 - only surviving player to play first class cricket before WW2), Pearl Carr (96), Murray Walker (96), Glynis Johns (95), Tony Britton (95), Peregrine Worsthorne (96 next month), Henry Kissinger (96),Michael Medwin (96), Wally Fawkes (95), James Garbutt (94), Christopher Tolkein (94), Sidney Poitier (92), David Attenborough (93), Mel Brooks (93), Doreen Mantle (93),Desmond Morris (91), Lionel Blair (90), Christopher Plummer (90 next month), Frank Williams (88), Eileen Derbyshire (88), Virginia McKenna (88), Patricia Greene (88), Josephine Tewson (88), Trevor Peacock (88), Brian Murphy (87),

Walter ("Wally") Fawkes is 95. He drew the Flook cartoon in the Daily Mail for 35 years and when it was suddenly dropped Maxwell had it in the Daily Mirror for a while. He eventually wrote Flook as well but earlier on people such as Barry Took, Humphrey Lyttleton (a fellow jazz musician) & Barry Norman had written the cartoon strip which appeared alongside Carol Day and Rip Kirby strips.

Peregrine Worsthorne will be 96 on 22 December. He was a journalist & national newspaper editor in his time & is married to Lucinda Lambton who used to be a prolific broadcaster.

Kirk Douglas has apparently (in Daily Express today) given marriage hints to Michael as he has been married to his second wife (not Michael's mother) for 65 years who was 100 earlier this year.

Changed this afternoon. The perils of relying on Wiki - one only has to look at the fact that they state the longest marriage was by a Bradford couple of over 90 years but Guinness World Records never includes it.