LILIAN Graham-Johnson has a bright air and a lively interest in everything going on in the world at large ? so that no-one would ever guess she was celebrating her hundredth birthday. The sprightly resident of Lilicrap Court in Okehampton had two surprise parties organised for her last week. ?Everyone?s been so nice and kind to me,? she said. ?I?ve got a stack of cards a foot high.? One party was held on the day of her birthday itself, at the White Hart Hotel, and was arranged by her daughter Brenda Vanstone. Lilian also has three granddaughters, who are Brenda?s daughters, and four great-granddaughters. Another party was organised for the day before her hundredth birthday at the Poppy Day Centre at Wardhayes Residential Home, where Lilian has gone twice a week since 2000. ?I look forward to going up there,? she said. ?It?s lovely. I?ve made some good friends there and I love the company.? Lilian has lived in Okehampton since 1930, when she married a boy from the town, Lesley Johnson. The couple were married for 54 years, and Lilian has been a widow for twenty. ?I wish he could be here today,? she said. The couple?s first home was the cottage in Museum Yard where Sydney Simmons was born and grew up a century earlier. From there they went to live in North Street where they lived for forty years before moving to a house in Simmons Park, The Rock, which they rented for fifteen years. Lilian said she would always have fond memories of Simmons Park. ?I loved living there. The park has always been lovely, it?s the best thing in Okehampton.? After 70 years in one town, it might be easy to cling to the past, but Lilian is keen to see Okehampton move forward with the times. ?I think they should get some of the big new shops here in town,? she said. Some of the changes she has seen in her 100 years do worry Lilian though. ?There used to be such beautiful summers ? you used to put away your coat at the start of summer and that was it ? you didn?t need it again. It?s all gone upside down now, the seasons have changed.? Despite so many years in Okehampton, Lilian insists that she will always remain a Chagford girl at heart. ?I was born in Chagford and I went back there after I?d been to school,? she said. ?It?s a lovely place. We used to go to dances in the village hall. In fact we used to go to dances wherever they were holding them, in all the villages.? Lilian said a happy and carefree lifestyle was one key to a long innings. ?I?ve been able to do most of the things I wanted to in my life and I had a good upbringing ? I?ve never gone hungry,? said Lilian with a smile.
