A 104-year-old woman has shared the secret to a long, fulfilling life during her birthday celebration with family and staff at the care home she resides in.

Eileen Wilkie, who lives at Care UK’s Rossetti House in Frome, celebrated her 104th birthday surrounded by family, residents, and team members.

Eileen was born on February 13, 1921 in Chirk, North Wales, and was a comptometer operator in the 1930s before joining the land army at Chirk Castle in the Second World War.

In 1937, Eileen met her husband, John Wilkie, in Bristol. They later wed in 1942 and went on to have three daughters who later brought eight grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren into the family.

In her spare time, Eileen enjoyed playing golf and had a passion for stamp collecting and gardening. She also loved poetry, a hobby she continues to enjoy today, and is an active member of the poetry group at Rossetti House.

When asked to share her secret to a long and happy life, Eileen put it down to “a glass of sherry and porridge.”

Phil Vale, general manager at Rossetti House, said: “Celebrating residents’ special milestones is incredibly important to us here at Rossetti House – and Eileen’s 104th birthday certainly called for a big celebration. It seems as though we all need to enjoy a little more porridge and sherry if Eileen’s advice is anything to go by.”

Rossetti House provides full time residential, dementia and nursing care in a luxury setting, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence, the home incorporates plenty of space for leisure activities and hobbies and has its own cinema, hair and beauty salon and café.

For more information on Rossetti House, please call customer relations manager Helen Cross on 01373 887 988 or email [email protected].