SPRIGHTLY golfer Kathleen Cooper's life remains in full swing despite her suffering from a crippling disorder.

As the temperature drops, Bolton people wrap up warm to brace themselves for the cold.

But for the 80-year-old pensioner and thousands like her, she still has to wear thermal gloves at the height of summer.

The pensioner has suffered from a condition called Raynaud's Phenomenon since she was a young girl at St Bartholomew's Primary School, Bolton.

Running across the school yard, she would pray that her hands would be warm -- but she had to wait decades before scientists would discover the bizarre medical condition.

It affects millions of people across Britain as hands and feet go so cold that the ends of the fingers and toes turn completely white.

But Miss Cooper, MBE, a former matron at Bolton General Hospital, has never let her condition put a stop to her more adventurous hobbies.

Instead of hot sunny climes, Miss Cooper, of Lostock, Bolton, has just returned from a cruise, across the ice caps of Antartica!

She has travelled the world -- including Russia and Alaska -- and has a keen interest in photography.

She is also a skilled golfer and is lady captain of Deane Golf Club -- boasting a handicap of 36 (although she jokes her real handicap is her age!).

Miss Cooper, who never married after her fiance failed to return after being made a prisoner of war in World War II, said: "My cold hands don't stop me doing anything. I carry hand warmers and wear thermal gloves.

"But even in summer, they can be very cold and painful.

"I did try some medication but it had side effects which gave me severe headaches. I decided that I'd rather put up with cold hands rather than that.

"Some people don't really understand when you say you have sore fingers. But the ends go very, very white and the rest of the hand turns blue, even after just a couple of minutes of being outside.

"They slowly turn back to normal when you get inside, but you get a painful, pins and needles feeling."

Some sufferers can also sufferer the condition on their ears and nose and have to take vasodilatory drugs.

The phenomenon is three times more common in females and can also be linked to rheumatoid arthritis.

A former Bolton mill worker, Miss Cooper was awarded an MBE by the Queen in 1979 for her life-long dedication to nursing.

She was former matron of Bolton General Hospital and former Director of Nursing Services for Rochdale.

Her advice to fellow sufferers is to always stay warm.

She said: "Stay fit and active and never go out without your gloves. Buy handwarmers which are sold at camping shops and don't expose your hands to the cold.

"Never put them in hot water to warm them. Use slow heat as this prevents chilblains." Fact-file on Raynaud's Phenomenon

It is called after its discoverer, Maurice Raynaud, who first published a thesis on gangrene and "intermittent asphyxia of the extremities" in 1862.

It is triggered by a change in temperature or stress.

Anyone of any age can develop Raynaud's without any other condition being present.

It is common in teenagers but usually disappears by their early twenties.

Smoking is known to provoke an attack and can reduce the temperature of the extremities by one degree over twenty minutes.

The Raynaud's Association was founded in 1982 and also helps those who suffer from a connected, more severe disease called Scleroderma, which affects the blood vessels, immune system and connective tissue.

For an information pack please send a SAE to: The Raynaud's & Scleroderma Association, 112, Crewe Road, Alsager, Cheshire. ST7 2JA or telephone 01270 872776.