Charity volunteer Pete Bonney sheds light on his life and gives advice based on the lessons he has learned.

* WHAT I'M CALLED: Pete Bonney

* MY AGES IN YEARS: Over 70, but who’s counting.

* WHAT I DO: Mostly I work voluntarily for the homeless in Oxford. My wife Carol and I collect clothes, food, shoes and tents for the homeless. We give it all to the Lucy Faithfull house in Oxford City Centre and this is our eighth year of doing it.

* WHERE I LIVE: Wood Farm. Carol was born in Wood Farm 62 years ago. We’ve moved around, raising our family, but we came back and we’ve been here for 16 years. Carol and I like it because it’s quiet, and we run the tenants’ and residents’ association here. We’re also recyclers; we’re supposed to be retired but we haven’t got time for it.

* WHO I LOVE: Carol my wonderful wife. I just love her. Everything about her, she’s gorgeous.

* HAPPIEST YEAR: 1965 when I met Carol, she was 16 and I was 25. She was selling flowers and I went in to buy them for her. They said it wouldn’t last because she was so pretty, but we’ve been together 47 years now.

* DARKEST MOMENT: Has not happened yet. A person’s darkest moment is their last, isn’t it? And it hasn’t happened to me yet.

* PROUDEST BOAST: 0Getting married to Carol.

* WORST WEAKNESS: Definitely cigarettes.The doctor has told me to quit, so I am trying. For me to have only one pack in three weeks is amazing.

* LESSONS LEARNED: Not to wish your life away when you’re still at school.

* DULLEST JOB: Grave digging. I was in Germany at the time, I had just been medically discharged from the Army after 22 years. I did try it for about two hours and jacked it in.

* GREATEST SHAME: Placing the wrong photo on Facebook once. I put a bum on there! I tried to make a smiley face, but then I got distracted, and accidentally clicked the wrong thing. A friend of mine called me up to tell me.

* LIFE LONG HERO: Myself. No one else could be my hero, except my wife, and I’ve already put her for all my other answers so I’ve said ‘myself’, because everything I do I mean to do.

* OLDEST FRIEND: Carol * WIDEST SMILE: When I joined the army, because it was a change from normal life. I was a private driving lorries – big uns – carrying anything from boots and uniforms to munitions for three years in Germany. I had four brothers in the army, and these were the days of National Service but I joined up at 17 before I had to.

* FAVOURITE DREAM: Waking up knowing it was only a nightmare.

* BIGGEST REGRET: Not being able to help the homeless more. I was homeless myself for six months, when Carol and I could not find a place to live. It was harder then than it is now, there were no homeless shelters or anything. Later on, I became very ill with spinal scoliosis, and I spent 10 years in bed. I put on a lot of weight. A friend of mine came along asking for my old clothes, which were too small for me. I sent him to a charity shop saying they would give him some for free, and when they didn’t, that made me want to help the homeless. I also have coeliacs disease. I have had a hard time of it, but I still smile and still help the homeless.