INTERVIEW
off, and works five instead of seven.
His nephew John Abbott, who’s worked
with him for 30 years and is in line
to become fourth generation of the
business, often encourages his uncle to
take it easy but Keith says: “I can’t do that
– if I see a queue at the tea hut, I can’t just
sit around – I have to get in there!”
Fateful day
The thing is that what other people see
as hard work, Keith regards as simply a
way of life that he loves.
And he’s appreciated it even more since
the fateful day in May 2002 when he
suffered a serious heart attack on his way
to the bank and ended up in intensive
care for two weeks.
“John really proved himself that
weekend,” he recalls. “It was the
Mayday holiday and he just took care of
everything, got it all under way.
“You tend to think nobody else can do
your job, but John is a great lad and I’m
lucky to have him”.
The heart attack was a wake-up call
for Keith in many ways. Always a heavy
smoker – 40 cigarettes a day until he
switched to a pipe and then used up to
an ounce of tobacco a day - he cut it out
from that day on.
Confined to home for months as he
waited for a stent to be fitted at the
Royal Sussex Hospital, he was thoroughly
miserable and missing his life at the
beach.
“I’m sure I drove John mad, constantly
ringing up to check on things” he laughs.
Finally, John agreed to drive him to the
beach every day – on the understanding
he sat on a stool in the tea hut and didn’t
move!
After his surgery, doctors tried to
encourage Keith to join a support group
with other heart attack patients – but he
wasn’t interested.
“I didn’t want to go somewhere that
people are talking about their illness all
the time” he says. “I just wanted to get
back into my normal life and carry on
enjoying it.
“OK, I know I’ve had a heart attack
and I’ve got to be sensible, but there
aren’t many people who can say they
thoroughly enjoy their work and their
life – and to me, that’s got to be more
important for your health”.
Keith also tries to avoid undue worry, as
he believes a further reason for his heart
“OK, I know I’ve had a heart
attack and I’ve got to be sensible,
but there aren’t many people
who can say they thoroughly
enjoy their work and their life –
and to me, that’s got to be more
important for your health”.
John, Rita and Keith 1992
John, Harleigh and Keith today
www.visitilife.com
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