An English immigrant, who gave up lawn bowls at the age of 90, will earn herself a lifetime’s supply of free hot chocolate by turning 100 next week.
Ellen ‘Nellie’ Benson, born in Leadgate, Durham, will blow out 100 candles on July 19 at the Deer Park home she shares with her daughter, Winifred.
While Nellie wasn’t free for an interview (“She’s as deaf as a post,” daughter Winifred chuckled), she’s “still going strong”, her proud family points out.
“She’s doing quite well, although her memory can be a little bit lax at times,” Winifred said, believing the secret to her mother’s longevity has been diligent self- care.
“She would say ‘take care of yourself, nobody else will’ … ‘take the ups and downs of life as they come’ … and, ‘if you get a cold or feel sick, get straight to the doctors’.”
Nellie followed her daughters, Winifred and Maureen, to Australia from the Old Dart in 1965.
Her husband died in the early ’90s.
One of the Deer Park Club’s most loved members, Nellie received a letter from the Prime Minister and a special Deer Park mug from the club for her free hot chocolate on demand.
Nellie has two daughters, three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
