Staff members at Austenwood Nursing Home, in Gerrards Cross, organised a special birthday party for a former Chalfont St Peter resident who turned 100 years old.
Kathleen King, who was born on June 16, 1920, celebrated her 100th birthday with their staff and residents at the home and her family singing happy birthday from the driveway.
Jenny Bloomberg, care relations manager, said: “It went extremely well, we’d been telling Kathleen a couple days prior that her birthday was coming so we could build up the excitement. During the night, our staff decorated her bedroom with birthday banners, balloons and paintings from our local community so when she woke up she had a bedroom full of birthday wishes. Along with the decorations in her bedroom, the communal areas of the home were also decorated.
“Kathleen’s family joined her around 2.30pm to open her cards, including her special birthday card from the Queen. A wonderful video had been made from different relatives around the world with messages for her. Due to the home being on lockdown the family were observing the social distancing rules and wore PPE.
“We all sang happy birthday to her with some of our local community joining us in our driveway and presented her with a fabulous cake which was made by our chef. It was a fun day for Kathleen and our other residents as it’s not every day we have such a milestone to celebrate, we couldn’t have asked for a better day.”
Kathleen, who has been at the home since August 2019, is mother to two children, a son and a daughter.
ChalfontsNews spoke to the youngest of the siblings, James King, who said: “She was always determined to make a 100 years old, now she made it and she got her birthday card from the Queen.
“My mum loved dancing, she and her best friend; even in the midst of the Second World War blitz, would go up to London and they would go dancing in what were then the equivalent of clubs.
“When the air raid sirens rang they would go down into the shelters, wait for the bombs to drop and they would then come up afterwards and carry on dancing.
“The reason I say that is because it’s an example that shows that generation was a pretty tough generation that lived through the Second World War. They’re always very resilient.
“She worked for a bit but then had to be a carer for her father who was injured in a land mine bomb in the First World War, she looked after him and brought us up.
“My mother was known for having always the kettle on, people would come around and she would always welcome them with a cuppa.
“My father tragically died at the age of 71, almost 30 years ago, because of cancer so she lived as a widow.
“She lived in West Healing until about two years ago, until that stage she used to be very mentally alert, she used to do three crossword puzzles everyday then she became to deteriorate physically.
“At first she was cared for by my daughter in Chalfont St Peter then as her physical health deteriorated, we moved her to Austenwood Nursing Home.
“I have to say they have been amazing, she was beginning to get bed bound, they got her up, fed her properly and she’s got a new lease of life.”
If you are looking for care for you or a loved one please contact Jenny on 07717 021 402.
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