A FEW YEARS ago, Sylvia Bradley would probably not have imagined that, aged 75, she would be a shareholder in a gym - and loving every minute of it.

But then, over the last few years Sylvia's life has taken a few unexpected twists and turns.

About three years ago, her husband left her for a much younger woman.

"This absolutely bashed my self esteem," she said. "In fact the girl was half my age which made it even worse."

To combat the sadness, and to get out and meet people, Sylvia, who had previously been a member of gyms, joined Curves in York Road, Peterborough.

"I could either sit at home and dwell on it or get out and do something about it and at the same time get fit," she said.

Sylvia deliberately picked a gym which was relaxed and open, and immediately felt the benefit.

"It lifted me up because it was such a friendly place to be," she said.

Sylvia went three times a week and made friends immediately.

But then, on January 31 this year, that branch of Curves closed down and it looked like Sylvia's salvation would be gone for good.

This she said, left her devastated.

However, she did not have time to dwell on the implications of her sanctuary being closed down as the former owner was offering to sell it.

She said: "I had a quick think to see if I could buy it and realised I couldn't, but then we said if we could find enough members to all put a bit in, could we save it?"

The answer was yes, and seven members, plus gym instructors Carol Reed and Hannah Glynn, combined forces to buy the gym.

Together they set about redecorating and rebranding their gym, and today Orchids Ladies Health and Fitness Centre is a serene lilac haven for women of all ages and abilities, offering simple but effective 30-minute workout sessions.

It reopened in August, and that day was a special one for Sylvia and her colleagues.

She said: "It was a fantastic day, especially when so many of the old members flooded back."

It now has 92 members and like Sylvia, many of these have a real sense of belonging to the gym.

Some have even recently started running raffles in order to buy new equipment.

Sylvia helps out as a mentor, generally visiting about three times a week

Orchids is, she said, an important part of her life.

"It gives me something to concentrate my mind on, rather than what's happened to me, I suppose. The gym is for everybody, all sort of shapes and ages. The age group is from 17 and I'm one of the oldest."

"Even if you've got something a little bit wrong with you as you get older, you can still come to the gym, and it's also a meeting place."

Sylvia is now a big advocate of older people not sitting idle in retirement but getting out and being active.

"It's so easy to sit and decide you're old and that's it, but age is only a number," she said.

Next page: Bernadine Coady's story

External link:
UK Older People's Day 2008 (1 October) - direct.gov.uk.