CELEBRATIONS were the order of the day at Parc Vro Nursing Home on Sunday when one of their longest residents, Ida Lanyon, reached her 100th birthday, writes Derek Carter.

She was visited by many members of her family from as far away as Plymouth and friends from St Martin, including representatives of the parish council, the Luncheon Club and the parish church.

Ida was born in Helston in 1909 and remembers her father Mr Beare driving a horse bus for the Angel Hotel. Unfortunately, her father was called to the colours and was killed in the Great War.

She had a lasting impression of her grandfather, with his long white beard, who was a cobbler living at Breage, and used to say of her father: "My dad was only five ft three inches tall – Cornish people in those days were very small."

Ida came to St Martin in 1931 when she married William Thomas Lanyon, who was a farm worker at the time, and they lived at Henforth.

Elder brother

Three years later they moved into Porky Street, St Martin, in the third of the three cottage terrace, where she lived well into her 90s.

It was at this time that her husband went to work with his elder brother, Sydney Harold, a mason.

In the summer of 1952, Ida's husband died in an accident while out shooting and she has remained a widow for 56 years.

At this difficult time, and until this year, she was well supported by her close neighbour and sister-in-law, the late Joan Cardwell

When Mr Faull of Tregithew lost his wife, he was left with three young daughters and Ida went every day to keep house and help raise the children.

Mary Harris (nee Faull) was one of her many visitors on Sunday.

Enid Wilkins, one of Ida's nieces, working with Mrs Stevenson and her Parc Vro staff organised a wonderful day for Ida with a splendid birthday cake, cups of tea all day and a huge spread.