Horsham woman celebrates 100th birthday with special performance

Beata Hulsen, of Skylark House, in St Mark’s Lane, was treated to a surprise performance by renowned violinist Andrew Bernardi.

Andrew played the special concert for Beata and residents at the care home, playing classical songs on a 300-year-old violin worth a reported £3.5million.

Commenting on the performance, Beata said: “This was a lovely birthday surprise – despite being 100 years old, I felt very young in the company of the 300-year-old violin.”

To celebrate the milestone birthday, the home decorated the lounge with balloons and banners.

The home’s head chef, Yann, baked a birthday cake, which was purple and green to mark the Wimbledon colours as that is Beata’s favourite sporting tournament.

Beata said her secret to longevity was a ‘sense of humour and a good amount of exercise’.

Continuing the celebrations, team members at Skylark House surprised Beata with a trip to the tennis courts in Horsham, where she used to spend many weekends playing tennis with family and friends.

Beata was born on March 11, 1922 and during her career, she worked for the United Nations for many years, which saw her live in Geneva and Brazil.

Passionate about tennis, Beata enjoyed playing the sport up to the age of 90 but remains an avid fan of tennis tournaments today.

Dorota Woloszyn, home manager at Skylark House, said: “Beata is a much-loved resident at Skylark House and it was fantastic to help her celebrate this incredible milestone with a very special performance from Andrew Bernardi.

“Here at Skylark House, everything we do is focused on our ethos of ensuring residents live active and fulfilling lives, so we always like to celebrate important milestones – and Beata’s 100th birthday was no exception.

“It was lovely to raise a glass together on her special day and celebrate in style with her two of her favourite pastimes, music and tennis.”

Skylark House provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite and palliative care.

Skylark House is run by Care UK, a company with 40 years’ experience.

For more information on Skylark House, call customer relations manager Beverly Jordan, on 01403 887 578 or email [email protected]

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