Edith Higgs, of Penrith, celebrated her 100th birthday in style.
Edith, who lives at Croft Avenue Residential Home, Wordsworth Street, hit the milestone on Saturday, April 17.
The festivities included a party with a sing along as well as a carriage ride.
She said: “It was the most wonderful day. Everyone said it was the best party they have ever been to. We were all together singing and it just made it lovely.”
The secret to a long life, said Edith, was to take care of yourself, not put too much pressure on yourself, and spend lots of time with friends and family.
Born in Millwall on London’s Isle of Dogs in 1921, Edith had two brothers, one of whom was Eric Wooff, a maths teacher at Appleby Grammar School and Eden District Council chairman.
She moved to Penrith in 1960 with her husband Charlie who was a Dunkirk veteran. They came for the fresh Cumbrian air and hearty local produce.
They had two children, Diane, who is a retired doctor and Stuart who was in the RAF. She also has two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Edith and Charlie celebrated their 80th oak wedding anniversary last year, shortly before Charlie died, aged 101 — the oldest survivor of Crohn’s disease in the UK.
Professionally Edith was the canteen manager at BBC Skelton before becoming the cook supervisor at St Catherine’s School, Penrith, where she remained until her retirement.
An active member of the Eden community over the years, she was one of the founding members of Penrith’s Queen Elizabeth Grammar School parents’ association, an ex-chairman of Penrith Age Concern holiday club and a member of the Methodist Church in Penrith and Stainton where she fundraised well into her 90s.
As well as a sing-along and a carriage ride, her family also video called her over Zoom.
She has not been able to see them for a year due to COVID restrictions so it was a real treat for Edith to have the party.
Margaret Wilcox, activities co-ordinator at Croft Avenue said: “The birthday was brilliant, everything went to plan. The weather was lovely so the whole home enjoyed it. Edith was buzzing and looked absolutely gorgeous.”
Edith is still a competitive Scrabble player and often gives Margaret a run for her money in their regular games.
The horses, Dexter and Drambuie, were provided by Dougie and Jackie Parkinson, of Melmerby, who won the first ever Edinburgh Prize for driving in 2014, and a balloon centrepiece was created by Lisa Donninson.
