Ted Roberts, a cheeky Chelsea Pensioner takes us inside the Royal Hospital- Londoner #22

Meet Ted, a Chelsea Pensioner and self pronounced 'naughty boy'! How to enjoy life after service is a perennial question for our armed forces, but Ted has found the answer. Visitors to London's stylish Chelsea neighbourhood may have seen these dignified former servicemen and women padding up and down the King's Road, or in the stands at the cup final at Wembley. Ted is a real Londoner (with an eye for mischief) enjoying a palatial retirement in the heart of the London establishment at the Royal Hospital.

1000 LONDONERS

This film is part of 1000 Londoners, a five-year digital project which aims to create a digital portrait of a city through 1000 of the people who identify themselves with it. The profile contains a 3 minute film that gives an insight into the life of the Londoner, as well as their personal photos of London and some answers to crucial questions about their views on London life. Over the course of the project we aim to reveal as many facets of the capital as possible, seeing city life from 1000 points of view.

www.1000londoners.com
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www.facebook.com/1000londoners
Twitter: @1000_londoners

1000 Londoners is produced by South London based film production company and social enterprise, Chocolate Films. The filmmakers from Chocolate Films will be both
producing the films and providing opportunities to young people and community groups to make their own short documentaries, which will contribute to the 1000 films. Visit www.chocolatefilms.com

Transcript:

I like messing about, I like having a laugh. Life's too short, so if you can make someone laugh every day, you've cracked it. That hat actually is not mine. I had to borrow that off a friend of mine. And that was sliding down me head, that's why I'm laughing. I'm saying 'hurry up and take the photo, it's moving'. Lots of laughs, that's probably why I didn't get promoted. United nations medal, that's the only one I got. I never got my LS&GC because I got a bit of a record. Bit of a naughty boy. And that photo is the wife. God bless her. Yeah, miss her. My ceremonial duties, they mean a lot to me. Because it reminds me of the days when I used to do it in the regular forces. And it's good, I like the uniformity of everything. Retirement's fantastic, as long as you keep active and don't sit about and forget about the world outside. Keep going, or find something to do all the time. Keep your mind active.

The edge between life and death was thin. But then I discovered discipline. I learnt to smile when I felt sad. I learnt to take the good and the bad. I learnt to care a great deal more for the world about me than before. I began to forget the 'me' and 'I' and join in life as it rolled by. This may not mean sheer ecstasy but it's better by far than 'I' and 'me'.