Health & Lifestyle | Posted on November 7th, 2025 | return to news

Poole resident celebrates 104th birthday with ice cream surprise

Poole care home The Aldbury created an ice cream parlour to celebrate Win Clowery’s special day.

A Poole care home resident with a sweet tooth celebrated her 104th birthday with a specially created ice cream parlour.

Colten Care’s Poole care home The Aldbury threw an ice cream party for 104-year-old Win Clowery, turning a lounge into a vintage-style parlour and donning stripey aprons, hats and red bowties to serve her.

Win, who was a Land Girl in the Second World War, was delighted with the party and even asked to join in the fun by wearing a bowtie herself as she enjoyed her sweet treat.

As well as having a sweet tooth, Win has had a lifelong passion for dance, especially the tango, so party guests were only too happy to take to the floor and show off their moves in front of her.

Win said her earliest memory is of going to church as a child and singing hymns. The soundtrack to her life has also been shaped by a fondness for classical music and singers such as Doris Day, Deanna Durbin and Vera Lynn.

Win was non-committal when asked for the secret to living a long life, but Beth Ford, a Companionship Team member at The Aldbury, said: “Having had the pleasure of knowing Win for the past 10 years, her love of jam sandwiches, salty chips and chocolate is unrivalled, so potentially that’s the answer. In any event, it was a pleasure and privilege to help make Win’s birthday wish come true and we all thoroughly enjoyed the celebration.”

Colten Care owns and operates 21 care homes in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex. For more information, visit coltencare.co.uk.