General Features

 I used to play netball as a teenager. I wasn't particularly good. I was in the first team, but that didn't mean anything. I went to a small rural school and we always lost - but we all loved playing.

Bomere Heath ladies in action

That was 24 years ago and I haven't been on a netball court since. Well, I hadn't until six weeks ago. It all started with a suggestion from my mother-in-law, who (after hearing me moaning) suggested I start my own team.

I chatted to couple of other mums and realised I wasn't alone. The word spread further and before I knew it we'd got two teams of seven.

We have already played a 'friendly' against a team of Shrewsbury mums and also been challenged by BBC Radio Shropshire. All we need now is a coach.

As the weeks have gone by, we've all improved no end. Some of us have also taken up other sports, like running and cycling, to get even fitter. We've been reading up on the rules, watching games on TV, and some of us have even got our own nets!

I must say, it's a very easy and fun way of getting fit. I'd recommend it to anyone. Go on, it's never too late.

Cycling

First responder Mark Jones, 33, from Broseley deals with medical emergencies all the time. But it wasn't until his own health started to suffer, as a result of "drinking too much beer and eating too many takeaways", as he put it, that he realised he had to change his ways. 

Before and After

At the age of 31, he was 20 stone (127kg) with a waist of 44 inches. He had dangerously high blood pressure and could barely walk without getting out of breath. Something had to change.

He started cycling and now covers at least 100 miles a week, to and from work. He's lost eight stone (51kg) in two years.

He says: "As kids you swim, you run, you cycle, people get married, they have children and then think that they haven't got the time. Getting on the bike has released a new life for me."   

Ice skating

Seventy-five-year-old Charles Faulkner from Cannock took up ice skating two years ago after his wife died. "I did it (ice skating) in my youth, not properly though.

"I've made a lot of friends and it keeps me fit."

Charles is learning to skate at Telford Ice Rink. He goes to a weekly class with a group of other adults, who he socialises with once the session has ended. The class includes Sue Woodfield (58) and her husband George (63) and 56-year-old Sharon Sheldrick. She's recently won an ice skating competition despite being 15 years older than the other competitors.

George and Sue having a lesson

They all say they took up ice skating so that they could join their grand-children on the rink. Now they all do it for the exercise and social side.

Sue says: "It makes you laugh, it's great for the heart and I certainly get out of breath... it's good all round really."

Swimming

Ted Hoy isn't your average 80-year-old. A normal week for him includes swimming up to 6,000m, running four miles and in the summer, he cycles too. And it's having results.

Last month he won five gold medals, in his age group, at the Amateur Swimming Association's National Short Course Championships in Sheffield.

Ted started swimming when he was seven and as a teenager regularly swam at club level but he then gave it up for almost 40 years. He eventually returned to the pool on retirement at 60.

Ted Hoy in Oswestry pool

His advice to people wanting to follow his example is, "Try and get out six days a week -  doing something - and gradually build up". He says there are lots of clubs out there in all sorts of sports, whether you're a complete beginner or an adult returner.

Dancing

The popularity of Strictly Come Dancing has increased interest in dance classes particularly ballroom and latin.

Joanne Hague is a dance teacher at the Radbrook Community Centre. She says: "Strictly has shown that you can progress if you put your heart and soul into it."

Student Jennifer Pickard says she likes rumbas, sambas and the cha-cha, while her husband likes ballroom. "It's an interest we do together and it's also a form of keep fit."

Jennifer and the rest of the class meet every Tuesday morning between 10am and 12pm.

Paragliding

57-year-old Stephen Taylor took up paragliding a year ago.

Steve's in the yellow paraglider

The part-time teacher has always enjoyed outdoor sports, like walking and climbing, but had long wanted to try paragliding.

Last year, he took the plunge and signed up to a course on the Long Mynd with the company Beyond Extreme, which is based in Church Stretton.

He says: "Personally, I love it. I try to get out whenever I can."

He says all you need is a moderate level of fitness and about £4000 to spend on training and equipment.