OAP stuck inside 21-year-old's body

21-year-old Rupert Cope isn’t your everyday undergraduate. While he may share the same interests and socialise with his peers, the man from Chiswick possesses a certain quality that sets him apart from his contemporaries: though still a raw 21, Rupert holds the mindset and mannerisms of a man well beyond his years. This student is less sex, drugs and rock n roll and more pipe, slippers and cup of tea.
Usually sporting a dishevelled beard akin to that of an aging goat, the West Londoner readily embraces the tricks and traits of the elder statesman, such as smoking a traditional pipe and drinking fine real ales. A flick through his CD collection indicates his love for classic crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, while it appears that the man is unaware that films do actually come in colour, as classic black-and-whites like Casablanca and Gone with the Wind dominate his film collection.
As I sit down to converse with the Bournemouth student, I gain a sense of what it must be like to be the person behind the camera interviewing the likes of Jeremy Clarkson or Bob Geldof on the BBC series Grumpy Old Men. I am bombarded by nostalgic reflections of how ‘everything used to cost less’, ‘people used to talk more’ and how the world generally used to be a ‘simpler place’.
Perhaps the saddest part of Rupert’s premature dotage is that he once, not so long ago, was an ebullient young man with real dreams and aspirations. That was a time before the ‘cruel reality’ of life had not embittered his character, a time when, as a talented football player, Rupert would terrorise defences playing in youth ranks at Brentford and Fulham. The same young Rupert had a zest for life, travelling across the globe to America and the Caribbean, hiking up mountains in Switzerland and even winning a surfing competition in Australia.
Though a return to his former positive self seems unlikely, one source of hope comes in the form of girlfriend Melissa Kane, whom Rupert concedes is the only thing that ‘helps keep him young’. And, with a romantic mini-break in Paris planned for the forthcoming weekend, there might just be life in the old dog yet.

Key Facts

Full Name: Rupert David George Cope
Nicknames: Granddad, Goat-Boy
D.O.B: 09.07.1987
Place of Birth: Chiswick, West London
Occupation: Student (Bournemouth)
Previous Employment: Sales Assistant
Interests: Sport, Pipes, Old Men’s Pubs
Marital Status: Single
Girlfriend: Melissa, 27