'Overwhelming' response to Bognor Regis woman's 100th birthday

Staff at Normanton Lodge Care Home launched the appeal earlier this month, hoping to mark Marge’s big day in suitably spectacular fashion. They were unsure she’d receive a card from the newly crowned King Charles III and, with no surviving family members, worried her centenary would go uncelebrated.

Fortunately, they got far more than they bargained for. "We were totally overwhelmed by it all,” said registered manager Tracey Langton. “We’ve lined every corridor in the care home with cards. We’ve put them up in the lounge, on the stairs. They just go on and on and on."

Amongst the horde of birthday cards were messages from well-wishers as far flung as Jersey, Guernsey and the USA – much to Marge’s delight. She lives with dementia, which meant she had to open the cards slowly, over the days leading up to her birthday, but that did nothing to dampen her joy.

"She was just smiling the whole day, she even cried a few times,” Mrs Langton said. “When she was reading the cards she would say ‘I don’t even know these people – How kind of them!’

"We are absolutely blown away by the generosity of the community,” Mrs Langton added. “It just goes to show the power of the internet.”

Alongside the birthday cards themselves, Marge also enjoyed a visit from the fire service – who presented her with a bouquet of flowers – town crier Jane Smith – who delivered a special proclamation – a performance by a group of ukulele players and much more.

“She was singing away to all of the old London songs. She absolutely loved it,” Mrs Langton said.

Alongside a visit from Monty the Therapy dog, Marge also reunited with an old friend – someone she hasn’t seen for thirty years. “She remembered her straight away and they started swapping stories and giggling,” Mrs Langton said.

"It was just such a special day, and very emotional too.”

To find out more about Normanton Lodge Care Home, visit normantonlodge.co.uk

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