Here is an old photograph of residents in the village on St Kilda. Whatever their actual ages, they certainly look elderly. Life-expectancy there was low for a variety of reasons. Today one person in every five thousand living in Scotland is a centenarian. There are 830 of them and I wonder how many live on the islands. Our expectations have risen as ages have increased, with 43% more centenarians since the beginning of the decade. See the item in The Herald and look forward to going on that little bit longer whether by the sea-shore or in a city.
Scottish Islands Explorer - a vested interest in generations ahead
Wow - I thought I was homing in on the finishing line, and it turns out I am only 2/3 through the race.
ReplyDeleteLots more island visits to contemplate.
Life just got brighter!
David G
One key reason for low life expectancy in the past was high rates of infant mortality, of course. And that was a particularly serious issue on St Kilda. But individuals were still known to live to a very advanced age, and there are recorded cases on Jura and Scarba of people who were said to have lived well in to their second century.
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