FRIENDS, family and the Lord Mayor of Newcastle gathered at a North East care home to celebrate the 100th birthday of one of its best loved residents.
Elizabeth ‘Nancy’ Hannah Bland reached the magic milestone on September 15, and her loved ones were joined by staff at Brunswick House, Newcastle, where she now lives, to mark the occasion.
Staff at the home, owned by Newcastle-based Prestwick Care which is part of the Malhotra Group plc, even arranged a visit from Lord Mayor of Newcastle Cllr Hazel Stephenson who arrived in time to join in the celebrations.
Nancy, who worked as a stallholder in the Grainger Market before retiring to Brunswick House, was delighted to see so many guests arrive to help mark her special day.
“What a lovely surprise, I really did not expect anything like this,” she said. “I feel privileged to have enjoyed such a long and wonderful life, and I’m so touched that the staff have wanted to celebrate with me.
“It’s lovely to have had all of my family here today and I really didn’t expect the Lord Mayor to come too. She really is a beautiful lady and I’m honoured that she was able to find time to come here to see me.”
Marion Redhead, manager of the 41-bedroom home, said: “Nancy is a very popular resident here at Brunswick House and we are really proud to have her here with us.
“It was wonderful to be able to welcome her family to join us to celebrate such a big milestone of a birthday.
“We were delighted when Lord Mayor Hazel Stephenson came along too. All of our residents were very excited to see her and everyone had a fantastic day. Nancy had a great time and we’re all thrilled that we were able to make the day so special for her.”
Brunswick House provides residential care, as well as general and dementia nursing, and boasts a range of services and facilities, including in-house physiotherapy, a cinema, full laundry service and hairdressing.
For further information visit www.prestwickcare.co.uk.