Happy birthday Joan!
She bought her first television to watch the Queen’s coronation and now Joan Morgan is looking forward to receiving a card from the Queen herself.
The Perton resident celebrated her 100th birthday with friends at Corsers Court, beginning her special day with a bouquet of flowers from the staff of the retirement living community.
Born less than a month before the end of the First World War, Joan lived through the bombing of her native Sheffield during the Second World War. In a year that has seen two royal weddings, it’s astonishing to realise that Joan would have been a schoolgirl when King George VI married the Queen Mother.
The first computer was built in 1946 and at 1,800 square feet; it covered approximately twice as much space as the average house. Today Joan thinks nothing of using a personal computer to Skype her grandchildren in Japan.
“There are so many changes, when you look back,” she reflects. “I can still remember our first car. It was a Triumph Sunbeam and I used to watch from the window of our home, waiting to see the headlights that meant that my husband, Les, was nearly home.”
Joan’s neighbours in Corsers Court were surprised to learn of her milestone birthday.
“I know I don’t look 100. I don’t think I feel it, either. I’m not as fit as I look, though and the problem with not looking your age is that you get no sympathy!”
That sense of humour is one of the things that Joan credits with a long life, along with keeping active. An enthusiastic gardener, she used to grow her own fruit and vegetables and was a keen walker, too. It’s her love of mystery novels that keeps her mind sharp: “I enjoy crosswords and I read a lot. If I get into a good book, I can’t put it down.”
Joan has two children and 11 grandchildren. Those living in the UK will be among the family and friends celebrating the birthday of this most sprightly of centenarians with a party at Patshull Park.
“I can’t quite believe I’m 100. It seems to have crept up on me!”