By Alesha Capone
At almost 80 years of age, pizza delivery driver Charles Down shows no signs of slowing down.
Mr Down has been working for Sottiles Pizza and Takeaway in Werribee for about 25 years.
“I just came in one day, they tried me out and I have been here ever since,” he said.
“I love driving, it keeps me going.
“I might be nearly 80, but there’s nothing wrong with me.”
Mr Down said that after his decades in the job, he doesn’t need a GPS or internet mapping system to help him navigate around Werribee and Hoppers Crossing, and that he enjoys listening to the radio as he drives around.
Sottiles owner, Nunzio Materia said Mr Down was just as quick – if not quicker – at delivering pizzas than his other delivery drivers.
“He is a good worker, he always knows where to go and is always available to work weekends,” Mr Materia said.
When he’s not delivering pizzas, Mr Down volunteers for the Red Cross, driving cancer patients to and from medical appointments.
He said he started in the volunteer role about 15 years ago, and drives patients from across Wyndham – and further afield, including St Albans, Sunshine, Melton and Sunbury – to hospitals across Melbourne.
“You get to know some of the patients, you see some everyday for six weeks while they’re getting treatment,” he said.
