Margaret Thompson has been teaching piano in North Belfast for the past 50 years and shows no signs of slowing down.
The 86-year-old is full of energy and regularly takes part in a painting club, crocheting club, and the committee at her local church. All of this on top of teaching piano for 20 hours a week, and taking part in a local lunch club where she jokes she's "going down to make lunch for the old folk."
But one thing that has been close to Margaret's heart for many years is the charity work she takes part in. Most recently, at the end of July she travelled to Interlaken in Switzerland to paraglide as a way to fundraise for the Northern Ireland Hospice.
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Although the Cavehill woman had paraglided for charity before, this time it was even more special as it was in a spot she'd been dreaming of for years.
"Years ago my husband and I used to go to Switzerland and in Interlaken there's a big field in the middle of the town, and the paragliders were all coming down. I said 'someday I'm going to do that,'" Margaret told Belfast Live.
"My husband and I went up the mountain and watched them taking off, and it was brilliant. I thought this year was the time to do it. I was doing something for the hospice anyway so I thought I would do that this year.
"I did it before six years ago in Chamonix for the Moorefields Eye Clinic as my daughter had an eye operation there and I thought I would raise money for them. That was good, but Interlaken was always the goal.
"Anybody could do it. It's something everyone should have a go at, it's very exciting. As soon as you do it you just want to go back up."
Charity work is very important to Margaret, who has fundraised for a number of charities in recent years by doing activities such as organising concerts and paragliding.
She said: "There's so many charities that need money. I try to choose something different each time, but I've fundraised for the hospice a few times as they're just down the road and friends of mine have used their services.
"If everybody gave a pound, none of the charities would be in dire straits at all. People give quite a lot, while others don't give anything, which is a shame because they could squander a pound no problem.
"Most charities don't get any other help, it's the public who keep them going. It takes an awful lot to run the hospice in particular."
In her local area, Margaret is well-known for teaching piano, a job she first started 50 years ago while doing her diploma. Her piano teacher at the time urged her to take on a few pupils, as she was training to become a teacher too.
"That started it. I got a few more, then a few more," Margaret added.
"Soon after, I went to Victoria College and I was a peripatetic teacher there for quite a few years in the 1980s and 1990s."
She said she doesn't feel like she's been teaching for so long, and seeing how well her pupils get on is the thing that keeps her going.
Margaret said: "I love seeing them coming in for their lessons, I would miss them terribly if I stopped. I have two little ones I teach - one was five when she started and the other was six, that was last year.
"I kept them over the summer and they came around every day to practice, and they did their piano exams recently and both got distinctions. It's such a lovely feeling to see them doing so well.
"It doesn't feel like it's been so long. Mothers will say to me, 'when are you retiring? But don't retire mine!' When they've done their grade eight and finished lessons, a lot of them will go off to university and maybe call in to see me now and again.
"I've had quite a few pupils who have gone on to careers in music. A former pupil of mine, Michael Trainor, was fabulous. He played piano and violin, he started when he was around six or seven.
"When he finished his piano lesson on a Friday afternoon, he went into the conservatory and practised his violin. How many children would do that? Now he's a professional violinist with his own quartet. I have him booked for my funeral - he's in London and I told him he has to come back over for it!"
At the age of 86, Margaret shows no signs of slowing down, as she's already planning her next trip to Interlaken four years from now. She said the key to staying active is to keep yourself busy.
"I'm hardly ever home," she added. "I help in a lunch club, I go to a painting class and I do the gardening. The more you do, the more you can do.
"I have friends who retire and say 'now I don't have to do anything.' They sit down, then they can't get back up. They walk from their house to their car, go wherever they're going and come back.
"They don't do any walking, and now they can't. It's a shame. You just have to keep going."
You can donate to Margaret's fundraiser for the Northern Ireland Hospice HERE.
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