Sir Patrick Moore: 'I can't operate my telescope anymore' I try to make the best of it, but I could have done without the last ten years. "I used to wake up and think: "What have I got time for today?" Now, I get up, drink my usual four coffees, have a look at the obituaries in The Times, and if I'm not in them, I'll get on with the day's work. Asked if he would rather have died a decade ago, he added: "It might have been better, yes. I'm not scared of dying. I believe in some form of afterlife: I just hope my uncle George isn't there - silly, baldheaded old coot. But you've got to make the best of things and that's what I've always tried to do. Sir Patrick also gave a glowing endorsement of the television presenter and particle physicist Professor Brian Cox, who joined him on the 700th episode of Sky At Night last year. He said: "These young ones come and they go, but he's a nice chap, you know. He's not the only one taking on the mantle. But he is very good. Came on my show once. Can't say I've seen his, though. I've been so busy I keep forgetting. Sheer stupidity on my part. I think he and I could learn from each other. Though, of course, he's not an astronomer - he's a particle physicist. He was in a rock band. But I suppose the more people that come into astronomy the better. I'm all for it and it's a good thing, because I'm ancient.