Aslockton Hall Nursing Home resident from Bristol celebrates 100th birthday

A care home resident is celebrating her 100th birthday today, surrounded by flowers, fudge - and hopefully a letter from the King.

Mary Browne, a resident at Aslockton Hall Nursing Home, said she doesn’t feel much different as she reaches the milestone today (Monday, August 4).

She added that her only wish for her big birthday was ‘good things to eat', with a sweet tooth for treats including Maltesers and fudge — not forgetting her love for a daily glass of brandy.

When asked about the secret to a long life, Mary kept it simple: “Plenty of fresh air.”

Originally from Bristol, she studied at Froebel College in London when she was younger, and despite not particularly enjoying the educational side of her school days, she admitted loving the school plays and productions and wanted to have been an actress, as she starred in several Jane Austen amateur productions.

“I loved it, I wish that’s what I had done really, but I don't think my mother and father allowed me to,” Mary said.

“I don't think there's much money to be had in it, not unless you rose right to the top and perhaps I might have done, but I never tried it.”

After letting her acting dream go, Mary trained at a Froebel teaching college in London and became a teacher.

She described the hands-on style of early education she learned: “We took some cardboard money and made some cardboard things like fruit or tins and the children actually bought them.

“It was thought that they would learn much more quickly and much better if they actually had things to handle.”

Mary left teaching after marrying her husband, Andrew Browne, whom she met at a party and was a Nottingham lawyer, who later became a judge.

“He was a very good husband, he was nice and plump,” she said.

“We used to do a lot of things; we went up the Eiffel Tower, but that was hard work.”

The couple moved to Nottinghamshire and went on to have three children, Christopher, Timothy and Antonia (known as Polly).

Despite living in our county for most of her life, Mary still holds a deep fondness for her birthplace. She added: “I prefer Bristol always, it is beautiful, and the river runs through the town centre.”

A lover of the outdoors, Mary said she still enjoys gardening and receiving flowers from her garden at her former home in Elton., with a particular fondness for Nerine lilies as they come back year after year.

Adding to the list of things that make her happy, the 100-year-old said that she also loves being taken for drives, swimming, and paddling in the sea.

Mary’s life has also included international travel, such as Washington, Canada, and three times to the late Queen Elizabeth’s Garden Parties.

These days, Mary still enjoys her daily brandy, and holds dear a stuffed teddy named Simon, who is thought to be the same age as her and has been with her since early childhood.