'She danced all night' - Boldon great-grandmother celebrates turning 100-years-old

Freda Jessop, from Boldon, celebrated turning 100-years-old on Wednesday, March 26, as she spent the milestone day with those closest to her.

Around 40 people attended one party for her and then around 100 people attended another party, which was held at the Boldon Community Association on Thursday, March 27.

Freda, who is a mum-of-two, a grandmother-of-two, and a great grandmother-of-two, married her husband, Bob, on April 3, 1948. The pair were married for 75 years until he passed away, aged 98.

Her daughter, Brenda Tatters, has spoken of her delight at the local community coming together with her family to celebrate her mam’s 100th birthday.

She said: “She is fantastic for her age, she still goes to the town by herself and it sometimes feels like she’s never in the house.

“The birthday parties were fab, she never really sat down and she was dancing all afternoon and all night - she loved it.

“With her being from Boldon and living there all her life, she knows everybody so it was nice for people to come along and celebrate her birthday.

“The children from the nursery at the community centre came and presented her with a bouquet of flowers, as well as a card that they had made for her.

“She was also over the moon with her card from the King and is adding it to her collection as she already has them from her 60th, 70th and 75th wedding anniversaries.

“It was a fantastic day, it felt like an unreal experience to me to see everyone taking the time out of their day to come and celebrate.”

As well as the children from Sunshine Nursery, Cllr Fay Cunningham, Mayor of South Tyneside, and Stella Matthewson, Mayoress of South Tyneside, were also in attendance at Freda’s birthday party.

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