Hailsham care home resident shares secret to long life on 100th birthday

 

A 100-year-old Hailsham care home resident has shared her advice for living a long and happy life – “always keep smiling and the world will smile with you”.

Audrey Goodard, a resident at Care UK’s Bowes House on Battle Road, shared her optimistic advice to mark her newly-minted centenarian status, while celebrating with those nearest and dearest to her. 

In honour of Audrey’s milestone birthday, a lively celebration with balloons, banners and a delicious cake was organised by her family and team members at Bowes House.  

Audrey was born on 26^th October 1924. She has had a colourful life and career, working in a factory making fuel tanks for RAF planes during World War II, before becoming a nanny and housekeeper for a military family.

Later, after giving birth to her first and only son, David, Audrey and her husband Joe moved to Eastbourne to enjoy life on the coast. 

Knitting and music-loving Audrey is well-known by everyone at Bowes House for her kind and caring nature. She was thrilled to be surrounded by friends, family and team members as they came together to celebrate her momentous birthday. 

When asked what her secret was to living a long life, she said: “Always keep smiling and the world will smile with you. Also remember to be kind and give help to others.”

Natasha King, Home Manager at Bowes House, added: “Audrey is a true country girl at heart. She is a very happy lady who will help others before herself at every opportunity.  

“As a much-loved resident at Bowes House, it was amazing to mark this tremendous milestone with her and hear her very good advice for living a long and happy life.

“Here at Bowes House, we centre everything we do around our ethos of ensuring residents live active and fulfilling lives – and Audrey’s 100^th birthday celebration was no exception. It was lovely to see how happy she was to be surrounded by those closest to her on the day.”

Bowes House is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own café, cinema and hair salon and there is plenty of space, both indoors and out, for relaxation and recreation. The home has a comprehensive activity programme, offering a mix of themed events and group activities both inside and outside of the home.