Shrewsbury care home resident shares secret to longevity after celebrating 100th birthday

Iris Catchpole, a resident at Care UK’s Oxbow Manor, urged Shropshire residents to get "plenty of exercise" and have "good friends".

Iris shared her valuable advice to mark her newly minted centenarian status, while celebrating with those nearest and dearest to her.

In honour of her milestone birthday, a lively celebration with balloons, banners and a delicious cake was organised by Iris' family and team members at the care home.

Iris was born on November 27 in 1924 and has lived in various locations across the country.

After growing up in Newcastle, Iris moved to London before relocating to Manchester during the Second World War.

Later, Iris married her sweetheart Alan Catchpole, and the couple lived in Shepherd’s Bush before buying their first home in Ruislip.

The family then relocated to Whitley Bay in Northumberland.

Iris and Alan were married for more than 60 years and were blessed with two children and two grandchildren.

The former nursery teacher is a keen cook and has always been a creative person, enjoying arts and crafts. 

Iris was thrilled to be surrounded by friends, family and team members as they came together to celebrate her momentous birthday.

Asked for the secret to living to 100, she said: "Plenty of exercise, good friends and always being nice."

Home manager at Oxbow Manor, Donna Howard, said: "Iris is a warm lady and has the uncanny knack of extracting a person’s entire life story within five minutes of meeting them.

"As a much-loved resident at Oxbow Manor, it was wonderful to mark this tremendous milestone with her and hear her very good advice for living a long and happy life.

"Here at Oxbow Manor, everything we do is centred around our ethos of ensuring residents live active and fulfilling lives, and Iris’ 100^th birthday celebration was no exception. It was lovely to see how happy she was to be surrounded by those closest to her on the day."