The Welsh gentleman sitting by his open fire looked so cosy and proper  , a working class man who wore a tie everyday  like my grandfather who was born in 1912 . I love seeing real life Victorians talking and walking .

Who else is watching in 2025?

My Maternal great grandmother🌹 born in the 1860s Mexico who I met a few times as a baby & died at 108 years, baked in an Adobe oven, smoked natural tobacco, no tv, made own clothes and was financially poor but rich in life.
So honored to have been picked up & touched by her as a 1 year old baby & much better than any public figure. Thank you ❤

I just love such talks with old folks - always curious what they think, how they contemplate, what they say...

So, in the UK:

300 Centenarians in 1956

3000 Centenarians in 1986

13,330 Centenarians in 2019

That is truly incredible and a testament to medical science + the NHS + improvements in living standards across the board

Lord Shinwell died in 1986 aged 101.  His great-niece is the former MP for Liverpool Wavertree, Luciana Berger.

Those centenerians born before Jack Ripper and survived into the computer age.

Takes 20 mins for a bar graph to load on the high tech computer

5:23, this 100 year old lady is going to check on another woman in her 70's

5:00 - they were all great, but this lady was so sweet.  A long gone generation - to think that they were all around 60 when WW2 ended and quite likely any grandchildren they had would have died by now and quite likely any great grandchildren they had would likely have their own grandchildren now!  Great film.

Just a quick note, I believe the welsh gentlemen sat in front of the fire was called John Evans- if this was filmed in 1986 he would’ve been 108/109. He went on the live until 1990, passing at age 112 years and 296 days. That makes him the 2nd longest lived British man ever at the time I’m writing this comment 33 years later. What an incredible innings. Age is caused by a number of factors but one of the biggest is genes- those with long lived parents tend to live long themselves. It’s fascinating.

I remember my late great grandmothers 100th. Truely amazing woman. It's been almost a year since her passing at age 104.

RIP Augusta H. (1917-2022)

I’m from Greece — geographically, chronologically, linguistically, and culturally, perhaps — far removed from the Victorian Britain into which the charming centenarians here presented were born; and yet, there is such an undeniably strong connection between these fine old folk and the elders I knew and loved in the poor mountain village of my childhood of some fifty years ago. It seems to me, that despite their relative cultural isolation, the simple labouring people of the past somehow shared more of an affinity in their practical and moral outlook on life with their counterparts half a world away, than do we in our intimately interconnected digital world. Nostalgic sentiment or no, I feel that in this regard alone, the past — even the recent one — was a far better place than our present age.

5:30 to 6:15 is inspirational. Kindness to others, community spirit and putting friendship before money.

“By talking to people you get information.”

4:30, Guy really regrets saying that. He should rest easy knowing that this footage is being watched 40 years later by thousands of people on every continent.

These centenarians were born in the age of the steamship, gas lighting, and electric telegraph, and lived to see supersonic flight, LED bulbs, and the personal computer. If I am so lucky, I shudder to think what I might see in my own lifetime!

I love talking with old people.  They can tell us so much.  I loved talking to my grandmother and mother and dad who lived in the 20’s to the 80’s and 2000’s. So interesting.  What historical events they lived through, the depression etc.  we should all show respect for these people.

This is wonderful and  fascinating.   I'm  58, and when this was  filmed  / broadcast  in 1986, I was  18 !  The film itself seems old to a fashion,  but that's NOT  a bad  thing.  It makes me realise what changes  I've seen in my life  ! ? Maybe good and bad ?  I can't help thinking the people in this video,  were made of stronger stuff and knew a harder way of life than any of us possibly realise ?  God bless them.

4:57 Love Miss Gray’s response!