BEACHCOMBER 108 YEARS OLD AND STILL AS FRUITY AS EVER...

RISING too late from my slumbers to catch the nine o’clock news headlines on Radio 4, I found myself listening to Desert Island Discs.

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Usually I cannot help being appalled at the musical tastes of the castaways but this time, one choice of the guest, whose name I did not catch, met with my approval. The music, as usual, was mundane, but the lyrics, performed by a fellow named Little Richard, were a model of succinct philosophical insight.

"Tutti frutti, oh rootie," it began, of which the first two words may be seen as either the Italian for "all fruit" or a flavour of ice-cream, thus suggesting a healthy fruit diet balanced by sweet indulgence. "Oh, rootie" clearly recommends a side helping of root vegetables.