Long time Maidenhead resident celebrates 107th birthday

A Maidenhead resident who has spent more than 50 years living in the town celebrated her 107th birthday this week.

Mary Atkinson lives in Moor Lane and was joined by her daughter Sue and her friends to celebrate the milestone.

She enjoyed a ginger and walnut carrot cake made by Sue, champagne, and was treated to lots of flowers and chocolates.

Sue said: “We had a bottle of champagne and I made her a cake and we had a string of different visitors who popped in to see her during the course of the afternoon and evening.

“She had lots and lots of flowers and lots and lots of chocolates which she loved.

“It was very nice, it was a very pleasant day.”

Mary, a former shorthand typist used to be very involved with in the amateur dramatics in the area.

She was involved with both the music group The Gaslight Gaieties and The Grimm Players who produced performances including Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White.

“Her famous thing was being the witch.

“She loved singing and acting," Sue said. 

She added: "She was in lots of plays, she used to like doing Gilbert and Sullivan.

“She still entertains her carers with her stories. 

Mary was also involved with u3a, a national movement of interest groups that are run locally and provide a variety of opportunities for people to get together and learn, and volunteered well into her nineties.