Hard work, helping others and keeping a smile on your face are the key to a long life. Just ask Ann Potter.

There could be no big family get-together or party due to coronavirus restrictions, but her friends at Gardenia House care home in Farnol Road, Dartford, made sure she had as good a day as possible – and there were surprise appearances from relatives too.

After a quick spruce up and pamper, Anne enjoyed an afternoon visit from granddaughter Clare before celebrating with her Gardenia House friends and neighbours.

Everyone raised a glass to Anne, and they all tucked into a buffet tea followed by birthday cake and scones with jam and cream.

When asked what the secret to her longevity was, Anne said: “Always working hard, helping my family and generally being happy have helped me reach this ripe old age."

Son Rob said: “Due to the virus our grand celebration of this momentous event had been thwarted but Gardenia House came to the rescue and pulled out all the stops and managed to arrange a Microsoft teams link.

"This was very successful and her family from England, Spain and even New Zealand managed to talk to her and see her, sharing her surprise of opening her telegram from the Queen."

Born on December 2, 1920 in Wrockwardine Wood, Trench, Wellington, Shropshire to Ann and Thomas Hodson, Anne was a middle child of 10 siblings. Only she and her youngest sister of 87 years are still surviving.

She attended a local Trench school where she loved poetry, singing and painting.

Anne left school at 14 to start work in the kitchen of an inn, which started her lifelong career in cooking and catering.

In 1942, she married Wilfred Potter, a Royal Engineer from Beckenham. After the war, she moved south to be with him and the pair clocked up many years of marriage, celebrating a golden anniversary.

She has two children, four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Always a social person, she was very active and was a Brown Owl for many years, in the Women's League of Health and Beauty – a mass fitness movement established in the 1930s – and also an active member of the Women's Institute.

In her forties, she returned to education by attending college to pass her catering and cake design qualifications and she worked in West Sussex as a catering manager responsible for the meals in several schools.

After retirement, she returned to her love of painting, even exhibiting some of her work in Whitstable.

Gardenia House manager Nigel Odd​ said: "Our hearty congratulations go to Anne."

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