Bubbly Sarah toasts 100th

Cheers . . . Sarah Taylor celebrates her 100th birthday today.

FIT as a fiddle Sarah Taylor is raising a glass today on her 100th birthday.

The sprightly centenarian, born in 1911, will be celebrated with a glass of bubbly and a telegram from the Queen at Werneth Lodge Care Home, Manchester Road, where she lives.

Born in Drury Lane, Chadderton, Miss Taylor attended Stanley Road school before leaving to work as a weaver in Oldham’s cotton mills.

She worked at Glebe Mill, Hollinwood, and then in Watersheddings until the start of the Second World War.

She said: “I didn’t really enjoy being a weaver but when the war came along, I moved to Avro’s, Chadderton, where I made parts for aeroplanes.

“It was a very important job at the time and I enjoyed it more than weaving.”

After the war ended, she worked in the offices of a rubber works in Failsworth until her retirement.

Miss Taylor, who never married and has no children, was a keen walker and regularly took to the hills of Greenfield and Derbyshire.

She lived independently in Chadderton until September, 2010, when she moved into the care home, and enjoys socialising and reading.

The centenarian, who said she has never really celebrated a birthday, will enjoy a buffet and party with friends at the home as well as long-time pals who are travelling from Doncaster to be with her.

She said: “I never thought I’d reach this milestone but being 100 doesn’t feel so bad, although I don’t think I’ll be running a marathon anytime soon.

“There’s no secret to long life, its just a case of keep going.”