From Ann M Rowell, Havelock Street, Oswaldtwistle.

Why is life today full of gloomy thought?
For if we all did, everything we ought
So many things we're told are bad for us all,
The list of things seems manifold.

Don't sunbathe or eat red meat,
Cut down on cream cakes, don't have a treat
Chips are out, and don't dare eat cheese
You must be water-thin, to please.

But our grandparents didn't bother this way,
Moderation in all things, they would say
They were healthy, active, had a good life
Weren't bogged down by dieting strife.

Which is the best way you might say
Well most of them lived to ninety
Hip-hip hooray