A 102-year-old woman has become the oldest skydiver in Britain after jumping out of a plane at 7,000-feet.
Daredevil Manette Baillie celebrated her latest birthday this month with a tandem skydive at Beccles Airfield in Suffolk, England—her first ever parachute jump.
She said she was ‘breathless’ after the jump, which also raised money for charity.
“It was a bit scary,” Manette admitted in an interview with BBC Radio 4. “I must admit I shut my eyes very firmly.
“I just want other people who are getting towards 80 and 90 not to give up anything.”
Manette, who served during WWII in the Woman’s Royal Naval Service (WRENS), has always had a thirst for adventure.
Two years ago, for her 100th birthday, she marked the century with a visit to Silverstone Circuit race track, where she got behind the wheel of a Ferrari, speeding along at 130 miles an hour. In fact, she still drives her own car.
“I’ve been so lucky to be fit and well that I’ve got to do something with it—that’s really the back of it.
“I can’t just waste it. Other people are crippled with arthritis, and I’m not.”
She said her secret to living a long and fulfilling life is “community, friends and being among people”.
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To foster those values, she is raising money for renovations on her beloved Benhall Ex-Servicemen’s Village Social Club, where her birthday party will take place. It was built 80 years ago for ex-servicemen after the war.
“The Benhall Village Hall started as a rickety tin hut for those coming home from the war,” said Manette, who plays a lot of board games there.
“I want to help ‘do it up’ for the next generation.
Her advice to people reaching their elderly years? “Just keep going.”
WATCH the determined daredevil jump…
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