Winnie wins for bravery

Anna Wallis PHOTO/FILE

Bravery comes in all shapes and sizes, and I think this week its name is Winnie Paap.

At the age of 86, she agreed to have her head shaved for charity.

And went through with it.

Not many 86-year-olds would allow their locks to be shorn off. Many wouldn't have a brilliant barnet to start with - though Winnie did - and as you get older you don't necessarily get less interested in your looks. Your interest can become acute as every wrinkle or age spot takes up its territory. Coupled with that is the fear the hair might not grow back.

But Mrs Paap, most recently of the Virginia Lodge Rest Home, was prepared to give up her hair to raise money for the Breast Cancer Foundation. The charity believes she may be the oldest person to have gone under the scissors.

She told reporter John Maslin she was having the ultimate haircut because she had lost a lot of friends to cancer.

Winnie Paap is obviously a person who has a lust for life. Born and bred in Utiku, she has been at the rest home for the past two years. A fundraising drive to raise money for the cause energised her into getting the number one cut this year, though she joked her biggest fear was not being around to go through with it. And the spirited Mrs Paap brushed aside any suggestion from others she was brave to shave. So far she has raised more than $3000.

We tend to see courage in big sweeps these days, more to do with battles and sport, or tiny battlers coping with sickness and affliction.

But for some, an 86-year-old agreeing to have their hair shaved is, in a smaller way, also very impressive.

You've got guts, Mrs Paap. Bravo. And you looked beautiful with your buzz cut.