A pensioner who has just turned 103 believes the secret to her long life is not watching television.<\/p>\n
Gertrude \u201cTopsy\u201d Hindley has missed seeing some of the world\u2019s key events unfold because she has never owned a TV.<\/p>\n
Topsy, who used to work as a carer, said: \u201cI\u2019ve never had one. I used to go round and care for older people and I don\u2019t think any of them were without a TV.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll my friends have them too but I didn\u2019t want one. I just want peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
The OAP, who celebrated her birthday last week, said she listened to radio instead.<\/p>\n
It means she did not see Queen Elizabeth\u2019s coronation, JFK\u2019s assassination, the moon landing or the fall of the Berlin Wall.<\/p>\n
In 2011, an estimated two billion people around the globe tuned in to watch Prince William marry Kate Middleton.<\/p>\n
And a decade earlier, the world watched in horror as the 9\/11 terrorist attacks unfolded on live television.<\/p>\n
But Topsy\u2019s family believe avoiding the gogglebox has protected the pensioner.<\/p>\n
Nephew Richard Hindley said: \u201cShe has never really been aware of what\u2019s going on in the world. I think that\u2019s why she\u2019s lived so long.<\/p>\n
“She hasn\u2019t been worried about the news because she\u2019s never had a TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cShe did know about big events when she was younger but she hasn\u2019t taken as much interest in current affairs as others do.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had a transistor radio in her bedroom, but used it for local radio.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Richard said his aunt, who lives in a care home, was content listening to nature programmes and the news on the radio when her father Charles was alive.<\/p>\n
The formerly married pensioner, of Sidmouth, Devon, has even beaten Pope Francis when it comes to her dislike of TV.<\/p>\n
Last week the pontiff revealed he has not watched it for 25 years.<\/p>\n
Topsy, who has no children, said the only time she has looked at the box was during visits to friends.<\/p>\n
In the 1970s she helped set up Sidmouth District Animal Welfare \u2013 later ARC Animal Rescue Centre \u2013 and said caring for animals left little time for television.<\/p>\n
Richard added his aunt was \u201ccontent with her own company\u201d.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: Mirror.co.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A pensioner who has just turned 103 believes the secret to her long life is not watching television. Gertrude \u201cTopsy\u201d Hindley has missed seeing some of the world\u2019s key events unfold because she has never owned a TV. Topsy, who used to work as a carer, said: \u201cI\u2019ve never had one. I used to go […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":120566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[7],"yoast_head":"\n