‘Dancing, reading and cake at the weekend’ – Edinburgh care home resident reveals the secret to a long life on 102nd birthday
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A very special birthday celebration took place at Care UK’s Lauder Lodge, on Wakefield Avenue, when resident Winnie Walker turned 102 years ‘young’ on 9th August.
To mark the occasion, Winnie revealed the secret to a long and happy life is dancing regularly, reading and spending the weekends with friends enjoying a pot of tea and a slice of cake. Winnie, who has shared a passion for reading since her childhood, attends the homes’ weekly book club and has read all the books in Lauder Lodge’s library. Keen to leave her mark and recommendations, Winnie has marked every book she has read with her initials on the final page.
For Winnie’s birthday this year, the home team organised a special afternoon tea party surrounded by her friends at the home, and complete with music from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s for an old-fashioned sing-along, which got everyone in the party spirit.
Nicole Anderson, Home Manager at Lauder Lodge, said: “Winnie is a well-loved and popular resident at Lauder Lodge, and it was fantastic to help her celebrate this incredible milestone with her friends and family here at the care home.
“Here at Lauder Lodge, everything we do is focused around our ethos of ensuring residents live active and fulfilling lives, so we always like to celebrate important milestones – and Winnie’s 102nd birthday was no exception. It was lovely to raise a glass to Winnie on her special day.”’
Winnie was born on 9th August 1919 in Leith. After leaving school at the age of fourteen, Winnie followed her mother’s wish for her to become a dressmaker and joined the dressmaking team at Jenners. It was here where Winnie was first introduced to dancing and would spend many a lunchtime dancing at the local park, Marine Gardens, where she would eventually meet her future husband, Pete. The couple married in October 1939 and have three children, four grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Keen to share her passion, Winnie obtained her teaching certificate and taught dressmaking for a number of years before finishing her working life as a shopkeeper in the family-owned business in Canonmills. Here Winnie spent many years baking fresh pancakes, scones and other sweet treats for the local community to enjoy.
Lauder Lodge is a modern, purpose-built care home which provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its own café and hair salon, and there is plenty of space, both indoors and out, for relaxation and recreation.
Louisa Wilson, of Ayr, received 60 birthday cards on her big day, including her sixth one from The Queen to mark her 109th birthday last month.
Officially Scotland’s oldest woman, Louise was born in 1912, the eldest of five siblings and only surviving member of her family.
She was born in Glasgow’s Shawlands and moved to Paisley where she began her career as a clerical assistant before marrying her late husband Robert, a civil engineer, in 1940.