The secret to reaching 100-years-old!

From growing up on a farm in the Scottish borders to settling in Hadrian House, one of our Housing Plus schemes, Mary tells us how she lives a full and busy life, and just because she’s 100 it doesn’t stop her doing the things she loves.

Mary is a well-known resident in Hadrian House and is always outside looking after her garden. She loves to see outdoor space tidy and has even been seen removing weeds from the car park when they are overgrown!

This hardworking culture has been embedded in Mary after living on a farm from being born where she helped her family every day. Her favourite job was mucking the pigs on a Friday night. She then went on to move to Newcastle at the age of 17 and worked as a shorthand typist at Wallsend Slipway.

But Mary knew she wanted to make a difference and once the WW2 started, she knew this was her opportunity and signed up to be a WRNS (The Women's Royal Naval Service). She was in the service for three years and her role was to pass signals to the ships. Listening to Mary talk about her experience in the WRNS was just inspirational, there she made lifelong friends and created memories she’d never forget.

After the war finished Mary then came back to work in the Wallsend Slipway and met her husband. They enjoyed 17 wonderful years of marriage before he sadly passed away at a young age. But they had created two beautiful children that kept Mary busy. She now has four generations of family as she has five grand-children and six great-grandchildren who she adores. In Mary’s free time she likes to potter and go and out and about - never sitting still. She also does all her own housework and said: ‘I enjoy keeping busy’.

Mary is a true inspiration and is proving anything is possible no matter what your age.

Mary was speaking to us as part of the celebrations around International Older People's Day.