‘A daily walk is the secret to reaching 100’ says Honey Lane resident
Margaret Brockwell turned 100, celebrating with a party and her secret—staying on the move!
Family, fellow residents, and even the Mayor of Waltham Abbey gathered together at Honey Lane Care Home on December 27 to mark the 100th birthday of great-grandmother Margaret Brockwell.
Margaret has been a resident at the specialist residential dementia care home in Waltham Abbey since December 2020. The care home hosted the party to mark her special day. But what is Margaret’s secret to reaching 100?
“Keeping active!” she said. “I always take a daily walk around the care home and in the garden with my Zimmer. In fact, they should put a pedometer on me, I am sure I would hit 10,000 steps a day!
“I have always enjoyed keeping active and still love going on a nice long walk. I never use a wheelchair when we go on trips, I always walk. It’s so important to keep moving.”
Lisa Gammalliere, lifestyle manager at Honey Lane Care Home, said: “Margaret is a lovely lady, and we have loved hosting her special birthday celebration.
“She wanted to look glamourous for her party, so we organised for the hairdresser to do her hair, and we provided her with a tiara and birthday sash to complete her glam look.
“Our chef manager Ermina, who bakes all our cakes at Honey Lane, made three cakes to create the number 100, and we filled the room with gold and purple balloons.
“Everyone enjoyed a sing-along and a dance as Margaret was serenaded by entertainer, Clayton. It was a wonderful afternoon, topped off with a visit from Cllr Shane Yerrell, the Mayor of Waltham Abbey Town Council.”
Margaret was born on December 27, 1924, in Freezywater, Enfield and spent most of her childhood there.
She married her husband Arthur in 1948, and the couple moved to Cheshunt in Hertfordshire, where Margaret worked as a cashier at The Cooperative. The couple had three children together and Margaret gave up her job to be a stay-at-home mum.
The family enjoyed holidays to Yugoslavia, and later in life Margaret liked to holiday with her sister.
In her younger days, Margaret enjoyed several hobbies and pastimes. She had a passion for art and was a member of a local art group where she painted beautiful portrait and landscape pieces. She also loved to sing and in the 80s was part of a local choir.
Margaret enjoys the company the home gives her, after 15 years living alone following the loss of her husband in 2005.
Home manager Angela Sacks said: “Since making Honey Lane her home Margaret has rekindled many of her old hobbies.
“She enjoys taking part in our art classes, gardening, and always joins in with a sing-along. Margaret also loves animals and her face lights up when Izzy our Pomeranian therapy dog visits.”
In addition to her children, the great-grandmother has three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Janice, Margaret’s daughter, added: “It was a fabulous party, and I know mum loved every minute of it.
“As a family, we want to say a big thank you to everyone at the care home for making Mum’s 100th birthday such a special and memorable day.”
Located on Honey Lane in Waltham Abbey, the 38-bed care home is rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and was commended for their dementia care at the 2024 Essex Care Sector Awards: The Prospers.