Dame Prue Leith Reveals Why She Loves Getting Older: “You Feel Very Free”
Dame Prue Leith says growing older has brought an unexpected sense of freedom, as she prepares to take part in a discussion about the joys and challenges of ageing.
The 86-year-old restaurateur and cookery writer will join authors Gyles Brandreth and Kathy Lette at this year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival on October 15 for a conversation titled “Growing Old Disgracefully.”
The former Great British Bake Off judge hopes the event will challenge the idea that ageing is something to fear.
“When you’re old, you don’t give a toss what anyone thinks, really, so you feel very free,” Dame Prue said. “You can have a snooze in the afternoon, and nobody thinks that’s odd.”
She added that getting older can mean becoming more comfortable with who you are and caring less about other people’s opinions.
“You come into your own, you don’t care what people think, you’re not going to change. And so the world has to just put up with it,” she said.
Reflecting on her younger years, Dame Prue admitted that she remembers her teenage years as far more stressful than life in her later years.
“When I think of my teenage years, I think they were really stressful,” she said. “I was always bringing the wrong boys home, and I was quarrelling with my parents, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”
However, Dame Prue acknowledged that growing older can be very different for people who are “old and lonely and ill,” recognizing that ageing does not bring the same experience for everyone.