Mabel's still the life and soul at 100
SHE was never a wallflower, and at the grand old age of100, Mabel Bean still enjoys being the centre of attention.The former Great Yarmouth guesthouse landlady was in a party mood as she celebrated reaching her century this week.
SHE was never a wallflower, and at the grand old age of100, Mabel Bean still enjoys being the centre of attention.
The former Great Yarmouth guesthouse landlady was in a party mood as she celebrated reaching her century this week.
Mabel was joined by family, friends and fellow residents and staff at Park House residential home in the town to mark her 100th birthday on Monday.
Singer Peter Piper provided the entertainment and a toast was raised to Mabel, the home's oldest resident.
Born in the year when old age pensions were introduced and Woolworths opened its first British shop, she was the youngest of three sisters.
Mabel moved from her home town Birmingham to Yarmouth in 1948 to open her first guest house in Paget Road.
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The mother of two children, Sandra and David, she married second husband Peter Bean in the mid 1950s.
Sandra said: “Mum loved being a landlady and ran guest houses at a time when they were really booming.
“When she first came to Yarmouth just after the war there were still mines on the beach and rationing. It was a real challenge running a guest house in those days when there was no frozen food.
“She was the life and soul of the party, very outgoing, had a great personality and was no shrinking violet.
A keen dress maker, Mabel was a talented flower arranging and won several prizes for her hanging baskets.
After retiring she went on several cruises and on one occasion stayed with a cousin of King Hussein of Jordan.
Park House care manager Carol Ridler said: “Mabel is a real character and does not look 100, she is very much one of the girls and loves sitting with us for chat.”
