[BGB] Games + Porridge

[Jim Barbaro]

From the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/surrey/6586637.stm


Centenarian celebrates with £25k
A man who bet £100 a decade ago that he would 
live to be 100 is celebrating his birthday with a 
cheque for £25,000.

Alec Holden, from Epsom in Surrey, is picking up 
his winnings from bookmaker William Hill, which 
gave him odds of 250/1 that he would reach his 
century.

The retired engineer, born on 24 April 1907, 
joked he had been "very careful" about what he 
had been doing recently.

Mr Holden, who also used to work as a teacher and 
a carpenter, plans to take some friends to a 
hotel to celebrate.



	These age wagers are starting to cost us 
a fortune and from now on we are going to push 
out the age to 110
Rupert Adams, William Hill


He placed the bet on 10 December 1997, when he 
was aged 90, with the thought that he "would live 
forever".

Mr Holden, who has two sons aged 70 and 60, puts 
his longevity down to porridge for breakfast and 
"remembering to keep breathing".

He said it was also important not to worry about 
anything, do as little work as possible, and go 
on lots of holidays.

He also plays chess every day, running a local club.

He said in recent months he had been keeping 
watch for "any hooded groups from William Hill 
standing in the street", so that he could avoid 
them.

He also said he had already received his birthday card from the Queen.

'Mythical landmark'

"In fact, I think I saw her delivering it on her bicycle," he joked.

Bookmakers William Hill said they had now raised 
the target age for bets from 100 to 110.

Spokesman Rupert Adams explained: "When we 
started taking these bets, 100 years old seemed 
to be an almost mythical landmark and we were 
prepared to offer massive odds.

"But these age wagers are starting to cost us a 
fortune and from now on we are going to push out 
the age to 110."

However, he added: "I am sure that Alec will get 
more pleasure from our letter than he will from 
the Queen's."

The bookmaker has now paid out three times on the same type of bet.

The two others were Rosalyn Strover, from 
Suffolk, in November 2004, and Arthur Best, from 
Cheltenham, in January 2005.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/surrey/6586637.stm

Published: 2007/04/24 07:07:16 GMT

© BBC MMVII



I plan to achieve my centenary with a daily 
regimen of PanzerBlitz and apple Danishes.

Jim

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