Surrounded by family and friends, Rose Brinkworth celebrates her 100th birthday today, February 15, at Highborder Lodge residential care home in Leonard Stanley.
Rose’s daughter Christine Hodges, chronicled a life the remarkable centenarian continues to live to the full: “Mum was born in Standish on February 15, 1925.
“She attended Standish school and then the Central school in Stroud to which she travelled on the railcar from Stonehouse, where she met her future husband Don, who attended the boys’ school.
“Mum cycled everywhere and often long distances to visit relations and for work and recalls her feet up on the handlebars to stop her stockings being splattered by mud.
“Mum worked at Hoffmann during the War and married in 1948. A girl came to entertain the workers during their lunch break and played The swan on her cello and it became a favourite for her.
“We lived in Stonehouse and when I went to Stonehouse primary school, mum became a dinner lady. Dad was a lecturer at Stroud Technical College so they always had the school holidays together.
“Mum always lived in Gloucestershire apart from two years 1964 to 1966 when we moved to Hampshire because of dad’s job. We returned and mum lived in Ebley and Minchinhampton. She lived opposite the scout hut where she often saw Princess Anne bring Peter and Zara to the play school.
“Mum always worked in schools ,mainly as a lab assistant at Stroud High School and for the rest of her working life at Eastcombe Manor School.
“This meant she and dad could enjoy their travelling in Europe.
“Her favourite places were Chamonix and Annecy and she loved Lake Lucerne and the views from the Rigi Mountain. Mum was an excellent dancer both in ballroom and sequence dances and this became her main hobby in her later years.
“She enjoyed cruises in her late eighties, one around the British Isles and one to the Canary Islands to which her friend Lynn came too. We often saw them in the theatre waiting for the show with a cocktail in their hands. She loves reading, crosswords, the theatre and music.
“Mum moved to Stroud and lived there till she was nearly 99 when her mobility began to let her down, so she now lives at Highborder Lodge in Leonard Stanley, where she is well looked after.”
