CELEBRATIONS Amy celebrates 107th birthday with pub party

A MUCH-LOVED community stalwart has celebrated her 107th birthday with a musical knees-up at the pub.

Amy Winifred Hawkins celebrated the milestone with family and friends at a party in the Bell Inn in Redbrook, Monmouthshire, on Sunday.

Born in Cardiff on January 24, 1911, Mrs Hawkins has lived through two world wars and made national headlines during the last general election after an erroneous listing on the voter register led to her being turned away from her local polling station.

Mrs Hawkins’ daughter, granddaughter and two great-grandchildren attended the celebration on Sunday. Her younger sister, 98-year-old Lilian, also managed to make it to the party.

As a family of musicians they provided the entertainment themselves at the party they put on every year to celebrate Mrs Hawkins’ life.

Her 50-year-old granddaughter Tamzin Powell said: “She’s a real character my gran. Everybody in the community knows her and every year she has a visit from the mayor and the mayoress with flowers – every year since she was 100.”

Mrs Hawkins was born in Cardiff alongside her four brothers and one sister but moved to Newport as a young child.

She began work when she was around 15 as a window dresser in a haberdashery.

As a teenager she was a dancer and toured the country doing pantomimes and during World War II she worked as a fire watcher, raising the alarm in emergencies.

She got married to commercial artist and sign writer George when she was 27 and became a mother to her daughter Rozi Morris at 36.

George has sadly passed away. Mrs Hawkins has two granddaughters, Tamzin Powell and Hannah Freeman, and a great-grandson and greatgranddaughter.

Tamzin said her grandmother had reached her advanced age despite having never received any sort of vaccine and only being hospitalised once to give birth to her daughter.

Tamzin said: “She loves music and she has got amazing energy. She’s slowing down obviously but she doesn’t walk with a frame, just a stick. She’s completely compos mentis.

“She can think clearly. I have more of a problem with brain fog than she has. She’s not your normal grandma by any means.”