WHEN Marj Bate is out with her great-grandchildren she can cause a bit of a scene.

That's because, at the age of 76, the former Hanley West and Shelton councillor can often be found rolling down a grass bank.

The mother-of-two, who lives with husband Stanley, also 76, at Heron Street in Heron Cross, now has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren – and never lets her age hold her back from mucking-in with family life.

"I'm not like a 76-year-old, I feel a lot younger," she says.

"I feel I can still do a lot, like I did when I was younger and playing about with my children. I'm on my knees and crawling a lot of the time with my great-grandchildren running about. There are not many who can do that."

At 46, Marj thinks she was an average age in the late 1970s when she first became a grandparent. Having been able to take a more energetic role in helping to bring up her children's children, the matriarch of the close-knit family can see the benefits of being a young gran.

"I think it's nice for them to grow up and still be involved with the grandchildren. If you're young you can grow up with them."

But, while youth can make the physical side of care easier, there are plenty of other ways to have an important role in the family's younger generations, as Marj concludes:

"What do I think makes a good gran? Patience, I think that's most important and being a good listener to them."