The kindness of strangers... 638 cards as Lizzie turns 100
A SPINSTER spent her 100th birthday opening hundreds of cards from kind strangers after care home staff issued an appeal on social media.
Lizzie Picken was stunned to get 638 cards and a box of gifts.
Birthday greetings and goodwill messages flooded in after staff at the home where she lives appealed on Facebook for 100 people to send her cards.
The plea went out three weeks ago and gathered pace as the big day approached.
Former nurse and midwife Lizzie, who had no idea of the scale of the response from all over the country, said delightedly: “This is more than kind, it’s so thoughtful – I’m so grateful.”
Excited
Relatives travelled down to see her from Lincolnshire and her best pal Lesley spent the day with her at Evergreen residential home, in Plymouth.
Lizzie’s big sister Millicent, who is 103, lives in Scotland and could not make it down but they keep in touch regularly.
Explaining how the appeal began, care home manager Jackie Tope said: “We started talking to Lizzie about her birthday because she was very excited about it.
“I said I could put out a request on social media and it would be fun for her to get 100 cards for her 100th. She loved that idea. Lizzie was a career lady who never married.
“But she does have some family and good friends.”
Lizzie is a big part of the care home, regularly dishing out chocolates and cracking jokes.
She received a visit from the “centenarian team” at the Department for Work and Pensions to talk about her birthday card from the Queen.
Her family bought her a tiara to wear for the day.
Lizzie said she had enjoyed “a wonderful life”. She grew up in Birmingham before joining the wartime Land Army.
Later she moved to Taunton, Somerset, to study nursing before settling in Plymouth.
She said: “My friend Lesley has done a lot to keep me healthy but back in the day I used to smoke like a chimney.
“I’ve been quite happy being single all my life and I’d recommend it to anyone.
“All moments of life are precious and I’ve been extremely lucky with mine.”