“Live when you can : die when you can’t help it”. Tim Falvey (86) Forever Young club member

‘Live while you can and die when you can’t help it.’ These are the wise words of my 86-year-old Dad, Tim Falvey. He is my greatest mentor and a member of the Forever Young Club which I set up for 50 to 90-year-olds who want to squeeze every minute of living out of life.

One of Dad’s favourite saying is: ‘In your 50s make every month count; in your 60s make every week count; in your 70s make every day count; and in your 80s make every minute count.’

He has enjoyed every decade of his long life, especially time spent with family and travelling around the world with Mum. ‘I went on holidays every year and I’m delighted I did it because I’m not able to do that anymore,’ he told me recently. ‘You don’t know the day, the hour or the minute that you will have to go, so live while you can and die when you can’t help it.’

Now that I have turned 63, I feel that time has become even more precious, especially as there is more of it behind me than in front of me! Every morning, I remember my Dad’s advice and set out to live every minute of the day ahead of me to the fullest.