Maidstone woman celebrates 100th birthday with television star

Hilda Howes was joined by family, friends and 'Neighbours' star Dr Karl Kennedy, and even got a letter from the king!  Henry Luck reports.

Transcript

00:00Reaching the age of 100 isn't easy, but one woman in Maidstone has managed to do it.

00:07Hilda Howells was surrounded by her friends and family to celebrate this incredible occasion,

00:13with even the king sending his regards with a customary birthday card, adding to her collection of over 100.

00:21It's my daughter and my son, both here, and lots of arms.

00:30And all their children, it's been a wonderful day.

00:36It's quite an amazing feat. She's the fourth one of six in her family to reach 100.

00:44Her sister died recently and she was 103.

00:49So they're a really quite incredible family, long livers, and it was no surprise to me that she made 100.

00:56So I'm sure she's going to make 101 and possibly 102.

01:00Speaking to the birthday woman herself, she talked about some of her fondest memories through her incredibly long life.

01:08We used to have some lovely holidays. We had a caravan and went all over the coast and all through the countryside in Spain and across there.

01:28And what else?

01:29Happy cruises?

01:31Happy cruises?

01:31Cruises, yes. We had some cruises as well. When it got too young to go by car, we had some good holidays, very good holidays.

01:44But the party was just getting started, as Lifestyles Maplewood Court hosted a second one,

01:55so other residents could celebrate Hilda's milestone.

01:59Hilda even had a surprise visit from TV star Dr. Carl Kennedy, known for performing in the hit show Neighbours,

02:08which proved to be the icing on the cake for this amazing celebration.

02:14So happy birthday to Hilda.

02:16One of her top tips for reaching 100 is to make sure that you and your family are happy.

02:25Henry Luck for Cain TV in Maidstone.