@Drewnogal saidYour contribution to society will be far more than you can imagine.
Got to agree! The feats that some people achieve during their lives. Moving to another country is one thing, doing that alone is another and this as a woman is another then in a jungle and then among huge wild animals. My life has been hopelessly tame in comparison and now that I am facing 70 next year I feel I have achieved so little with mine
Refelect on all the good stuff you have done and the kind words you have said here.
We are all bicks in the wall.
@Paul-Martin saidVery kind, thank you 🙂
Your contribution to society will be far more than you can imagine.
Refelect on all the good stuff you have done and the kind words you have said here.
We are all bicks in the wall.
@Drewnogal saidLooking back, as you say, makes us wonder: what happened? But - did we enjoy the ride is a more adequate question. Most of it at least. 🙂 😍
Got to agree! The feats that some people achieve during their lives. Moving to another country is one thing, doing that alone is another and this as a woman is another then in a jungle and then among huge wild animals. My life has been hopelessly tame in comparison and now that I am facing 70 next year I feel I have achieved so little with mine
@Great-Big-Stees
One month before turning 95, Patricia Routledge wrote this, she died today aged 96.
“I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. When I was younger, I often worried I wasn’t good enough—that I’d never be cast again, that I’d disappoint my mother. But these days begin in peace and end in gratitude.”
In my forties, my life finally began to make sense. Before that, I’d performed steadily—provincial stages, radio plays, West End productions—but felt somewhat lost. I was searching for something within myself, a home I hadn’t yet found.
At 50, I took a television role that many of you would later know me by—Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would just be a minor role, a brief moment. I never expected it to become beloved across the globe. That character taught me to embrace my quirks and quietly healed something deep within me.
At 60, I started learning Italian—not for my career, but simply so I could sing opera in its native tongue. I learned the gentle art of living alone without loneliness, reading poetry aloud each night—not to perfect diction, but to soothe my spirit.
At 70, I returned to Shakespearean theatre, a place I once thought I’d aged out of. This time, there was nothing to prove. I stepped onto those legendary boards with calmness. The audience felt that serenity. I had stopped performing; I was simply being.
At 80, I discovered watercolor painting. I painted flowers from my garden, nostalgic hats from my youth, and faces glimpsed on the London Underground—each painting was a silent memory made tangible.
Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning the simple joy of baking rye bread. I still breathe deeply each morning. Laughter remains precious, though I no longer feel the need to make others laugh. Quietness is sweeter than ever.
I’m writing this today to share something simple and true:
Growing older isn’t a final act—it can be life’s most exquisite chapter if you allow yourself to bloom once more.
Let the years ahead be your treasure years.
You don’t have to be perfect, famous, or adored.
You only need to be present—fully—for the life that’s yours.
With warmth and gentle love,
— Patricia Routledge
RIP
- Joined
- 06 May 15
- Moves
- 29050
@Torunn
Dear Torunn, thank you for sharing that. On my side I have thought to check which streaming services over here might carry "Keeping Up Appearances".
Meanwhile, on another forum I saw one of her skits as "Kitty" (scripted by Victoria Wood), which is the second segment in the compilation below (at about the three-minute mark). Wow! Such a condensed liqueur, and her delivery and motions (whether subtle or grand) were so admirable!
Oct. 10 (UPI) -- John Gurdon, considered the godfather of cloning and who shared the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 2012, has died at the age of 92.
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2025/10/10/godfater-of-closing-dies-at-92/3851760068706/
BREAKING NEWS
it was reported that soon after his "death", john gurdon had cloned hizzelf and was continuing to live anonymously as a poor dirt farmer in poland
- Joined
- 14 Mar 04
- Moves
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@rookie54 saidHave you, recently, bought any dirt? I did and I’ll tell you the farmer I bought it from was anything but poor. Mind you he wasn’t from and didn’t lived in Poland.
Oct. 10 (UPI) -- John Gurdon, considered the godfather of cloning and who shared the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 2012, has died at the age of 92.
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2025/10/10/godfater-of-closing-dies-at-92/3851760068706/
BREAKING NEWS
it was reported that soon after his "death", john gurdon had cloned hizzelf and was continuing to live anonymously as a poor dirt farmer in poland
@Ponderable saidDiane Keaton 1946 - 2025
This thread should be reserved for talking about recently died People of note. Please no off Topic discussions.
From Hair to The Godfather to Annie Hall to Father of the Bride and many more.
My favorite actress left us today. The world was a better place with her in it! 😢
@mchill saidOh that is so sad, 79 sounds far too young for her. She was a great actor, so expressive and I’ve loved watching her in all of her films and she was beautiful in an ageless sort of way, she always looked fabulous and she was so smart and funny. A lovely lady ❤️
Diane Keaton 1946 - 2025
From Hair to The Godfather to Annie Hall to Father of the Bride and many more.
My favorite actress left us today. The world was a better place with her in it! 😢
