BY ELAINE SHERIDAN
MEET Peggy Carter. This amazing lady was born in 1901 and is celebrating her 108th birthday this week making her the oldest Irish woman in Britain!
And although her hearing and eyesight might not be as good as they once were, the greatgrandmother feels on top of the world and looks like a woman decades younger.
Being head of four generations of Carters keeps the mum-of-three young at heart and fighting fit. Cooking is her favourite hobby and she serves up a great roast dinner every Sunday.
Peggy — who hails from Co. Tipperary — does most of the cooking by sense and she says if something’s burning then she knows it’s definitely ready.
For her birthday on November 13, the spritely pensioner will cross the Channel to Calais where she’ll spend the day browsing around the shops in search of some fine French cuisine.
And although she says she doesn’t like foreign food, she says she’ll try anything once.
She said: “The last time I went over I found this lovely butchers shop with a whole host of fresh meats. I spotted crubeens on the counter and ended up bringing a whole load home and cooked them for the dinner. They were delicious. And this year I’ll get some more along with a new frying pan. Imagine, I only found out lately that there are separate pans for electric and gas so I’m after one of them.”
Peggy — who came to London from her native Carrick-on-Suir back in 1920 — has been living happily in the same house in Cricklewood for the past 82 years.
She met her late husband George at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park and four days later he had asked for her hand in marriage. Sadly George died in 1958.
“He was a lovely, kind, gentle man… and he married a mad one like me,” Peggy said, laughing. The Irish woman spent 30 years as an engineer in the famous Handley Page Aircraft Factory where she played a major role in making the famous Halifax and Victor bombers. But she says working in the factory wasn’t always the safest place to be.
“Because we worked making bombers in the factory we were always getting bombed. The roof was blown off more times over the years, I don’t know how I’m still here,” she said. “I’ve survived the Spanish Flu and World War II so count myself very lucky. I’m sure they don’t want me upstairs because I’m an awful trouble-maker. ”
Politics is Peggy’s passion and she watches Parliament live on TV every day. A Conservative through and through, Peggy says she’s more than qualified to give the current leaders a run for their money.
“I’ve had my poor days and I’ve had my not so poor days,” she said. “And at the tender age of 108 I’ve seen more than most. But I know one thing for sure. If I were in power I’d certainly be doing things differently.”
When asked what the secret to her longevity is she simply replies: “Be good to yourself and have fun — plenty of it.”