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He’s the oldest swinger online!

6/ 8/2008

GRANDAD Bob Norris is a real live wire.

Retired and recently widowed, the 74 year old isn’t spending his spare time putting his feet up.

Instead he’s about to take to the skies when he rides a zip wire across Manchester Ship Canal to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The cause is close to Bob’s heart as he has been living with prostate cancer for the past nine years.

He said: "The reason I decided to do it is mainly because I wanted to raise awareness. Men are always a little bit reluctant to divulge the complaints they have and nine years ago you didn’t see or hear anything about prostate cancer. When you are told you have cancer it really does hit you and when I talked to someone who had prostate cancer it made me feel so much better. Now, if I hear that anyone has it, I try to go and see them and chat to them."

Bob, who lives in Ashton, is proof that sufferers of the disease, which progresses slowly over many years, can lead a near normal life.

He recently took part in a Relay for Life event for Cancer Research, he regularly minds his four grandchildren and is looking forward to a holiday in Spain.

The pensioner has also prepared for the zip wire by getting a T-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘The Oldest Swinger Online’.

He added: "You can get aggressive forms of the cancer but — touchwood — mine isn’t too bad. When you get to my time of life you want to find anything you can that will give you a buzz. I can’t wait and neither can the grandkids — they think their granddad’s gone mad!"

The Marie Curie Cancer Care Diamond Zip Wire Challenge takes place on Saturday, 11, and Sunday, 12, October at the Imperial War Museum North, Manchester.

To sponsor Bob call 330 3820 or to find out more about Marie Curie visit www.mariecurie.org.uk