A Milton Court resident had a busy week celebrating her 102nd birthday with a pub meal and a day trip to the seaside.
Alma Couch was born in Maindee and has lived in the Ringland high-rise block for over 20 years.
She said: “The best thing about living here is the company. I’ve always enjoyed the company here. They are very nice. The garden here is lovely.
“I’ve been very happy here. When I came here, I walked to the window and said ‘look at the view’. My grandchildren used to come to watch the fireworks. It’s a bird's eye view over Newport.”
Her family took her to Barry Island as birthday treat.
“We had fish and chips. There is nothing like fish and chips by the seaside. It was lovely and sunny, really busy down there.”
Audio books play a big part in her life: “I live talking books. I enjoy mysteries. The local librarian tries to get books from other libraries for me. That is my hobby. I’m rationing myself as the library can’t get many.”
During World War II she worked at a bakery on Cardiff Road and then after her two daughters were born she worked for a credit firm.
She said: “I used to love being in plays and was in an amateur dramatic group in Risca. We put one up in the valleys, a charming little play. In the tea interval someone said to me ‘I was surprised you weren’t in the play, you’re always in the play’. I said, ‘I was. I was the bald-headed monk. I wore a cap, very tight. I was squeezed into that and had a lot of make up on so she didn’t recognise me. They were a lot of fun.”
And what is her tip for living a long life?
She said: “You are what you eat. I enjoy plenty of green veggies.”
Before moving to Milton Court she lived in a post-war prefab on the Treberth Estate