Mary Spiers from Manchester turns 106 today, August 18, sharing her wisdom on the secrets to a long life.
To commemorate her birthday, Mary revealed that her longevity can be attributed to avoiding men, choosing instead to live unmarried with her sisters in a house in Cheshire until just a month ago.
Mary remarked, "I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, and I don’t chase men! You just get up and get on with the day. You live every day, every minute, and you don’t realize it’s piling up. I’ve got a sense of humor, and it gets you through some difficult times. It’s not been all happy. It’s been sad in lots of ways."
Mary had a boyfriend once, an RAF man she met during World War II, but he tragically passed away shortly after the war. Since then, she has embarked on her own adventures, living in various places and working in 14 different jobs over her lifetime.
Mary's family moved back to Manchester from Southampton when she was 18 to escape the bombings. She recounted, "I remember the bombs, the incendiary bombs, everywhere shattered. Once you’ve heard one, you never want to hear another one. I’m lucky to be here really. Lots of those boys who fought, a lot of them were only 17. Let’s hope we never have another war."
Throughout her life, Mary held numerous jobs, including roles as a cleaner, weaver, and cinema usher. She even worked on British war hero General Montgomery’s car while employed at Chrysler.
Instead of marrying, Mary cherished the companionship of her two sisters, Ruth and Dorothy, who also lost their boyfriends during the war. She said, "No one would have me! But I’m here to tell the tale. I had two lovely sisters, and we were very close. We were what you call a close-knit family. At times it wasn’t easy, there wasn’t much money coming in. But we did everything together. We went away together, we did the housework, the decorating, and the gardening. We didn’t need anyone else, we had each other. We had enough."
Mary’s family and friends have been a great source of joy for her. "The family I’ve got left are lovely. I’ve also got some lovely friends here, they couldn’t have been nicer to me. There is a man who moved in the other day who is 104. Where I’m going to end up, I don’t know. I read in the paper some time ago that someone abroad was 117. 117! I thought well I don’t want to live to 117."
Mary received a birthday card from Queen Elizabeth on her 100th birthday in 2018, and another from King Charles and Queen Camilla for her 105th last year.
Her cousin and next of kin, Henry Hesketh, 89, expressed his admiration, saying, "She’s been wonderful. As a child, she used to do a lot for me. But all my life she’s been there. We’re very proud of her. As a person, she’s always got a joke for you every five minutes. You just have to laugh. She’s just a happy person. And I think that’s why she’s still with us because she looks on the bright side the whole time."
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