Lady celebrates 108th birthday

PLENTY of tea, cook everything in butter and enjoy yourself and be true are the secrets to a long life, so says an expert.

Margaret 'Peggy' Carter celebrated her 108th birthday in style with a couple of drinks shared with loved ones in the Crown Moran in Cricklewood Broadway, Cricklewood.

Mrs Carter, who has lived in the same house in Cricklewood since 1927, has three children (one of who has since died), eight grand children and 15 great grandchildren.

Tony Murphy, her grandson, said: "We had a lovely time and the staff were fantastic. We have been there for the last few birthdays.

"For her actual birthday she insisted on going to Calais on a shopping trip where she had a huge lunch. Just before we left though she said she wanted a McDonald's cheeseburger and a coffee."

Born in Tipperary, Ireland, on November 13, 1901, as one of four siblings, Mrs Carter moved to the UK in 1919 where she soon got a job working for Handley Page aircraft factory in Cricklewood.

Always a fighter, Mrs Carter was given the last rites in 1919 after contracting the Spanish Flu but went on to beat it.

During the Second World War she, and her daughter, remained under a bed covered in plaster after a bomb landed nearby.

Aged 78 she was advised to stop smoking her Piccadilly cigarettes by a doctor who told her 'they could kill you.'

Steadfastly independent, Mrs Carter got a new hip aged 103 and then proceeded to break her other leg six weeks later but amazingly recovered and still potters about the house cooking to this day.

Mr Murphy said: "Despite getting more frail and deaf she is still as sharp as a pin. Her secret to life is to 'Just enjoy yourself and be true to yourself.' She drinks tons of tea and cooks everything in butter so that must be part of it too."

alex.wellman@archant.co.uk