AN age gap of 98 years did not stop two lovely ladies from enjoying a birthday celebration together.

Ethel Wheildon marked her 100th birthday on Monday at the Red Rose Club at The Mosses Centre in Cecil Street, Bury, where she has been a regular attendee for many years.

Ethel, who lives at Mosses House, is the club’s oldest member and at her birthday party was introduced to its youngest — two-year-old Abigail Sedman.

The Red Rose Club held a party with a meal, speeches, a presentation and cake with three candles for each digit of Ethel’s age before a performance from the Astral Choir.

The presentation recalled how Ethel had excelled at boxing on a Wii games console at a session at the club, which has been running for 59 years and meets at the Mosses Centre every Monday afternoon.

Peter Firth, chief officer of the Mosses Community Association, said: “It was really heartening to see the youngest and the oldest member of The Mosses together, reflecting the diverse activities on offer at the centre.”

Ethel, who was born in 1914, was brought up in Rochdale and started work in the cotton industry, eventually becoming a spinner. She married in 1938 and came to live in Bury and has two sons, two grandsons and four great-granddaughters.

For more information about the Mosses Centre: call 0161 761 2079 or email info@mossescentre.co.

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