A 95 year old care home resident is believed to be the oldest Rubik’s Cube player in the UK.
Retired BP Engineer Bob Andrew solves the 3D combination puzzle every day to keep his mind razor sharp and his fingers nimble.
The puzzle was invented by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik in 1975, and became a massive hit in the 1980s.
According to Bob, who lives at Pendine Park’s Hillbury care home in Wrexham, he does it as a memory test.
He said: “It’s something to keep my mind going.”
Rebecca Griffith, the Deputy Manager of Hillbury, is amazed by Bob’s mental agility.
She said: “Bob is a remarkable man. I think it’s very impressive. I can’t do it. It’s something he does every day and it helps keep his mind sharp as well keep the muscles in his hands active.”
Bob, who is originally from the village New Deer, Aberdeenshire, was married to his late beloved wife, Irene, for 60 years.
He worked all over the world for BP, including stints in Iran and Yemen.
The father-of-one got involved in the Rubik’s Cube craze in the 1980s and has been hooked ever since.
He said: “The Rubik’s Cube was all the go at the time. I had a go and was able to do it but it didn’t come naturally – I had to struggle. But there were others who could do it fairly quickly. The quickest I would be able to do it is in about seven minutes. It’s something I do every day.
“I consider myself extremely lucky because there are many people who are younger than me who don’t know what they’re doing.
“I also do crosswords and I also do Sudoku every day. Some of them are very difficult.”
Bob is a fan of the all the activities that are on offer at Pendine Park.
He said: “We get involved in the activities there and do exercises rather than sitting about and getting corns on the posterior.”
He enjoys the visits of the world class Halle orchestra who regularly conduct workshops with the residents at Pendine.
Pendine Park artist in residence Sarah Edwards said: “The Hallé are amazing and it’s no real surprise that the workshops are such a big hit with residents like Bob.
“They’re world class musicians and they treat our residents with dignity and respect. They’ve got such brilliant manners and we just couldn’t ask for better.
“The workshops are invaluable to our enrichment programme at Pendine Park where we aim to make a difference to people’s lives and this is a way of doing that.
“Bob’s remarkable skill and dexterity with the Rubik’s Cube is an example to us all. He has tried to teach several members of staff how to solve the puzzle but nobody comes close to Bob.”
