A woman who just turned 103-years-old has been looking back on her life in a Norfolk village.

Joan Jermy celebrated her birthday on Tuesday, January 23, at Windmill Care Home in Rollesby.

She was born in 1921 in Catfield, a village near Stalham, and was one out of ten children.

Her memories of the house where she lived as a child remain vivid - it was two cottages formed into one and when it was time to go to bed, Joan and her siblings would traipse next door with candles, hoping the flames didn’t go out.

As a child, she used to attend Sunday school - but a boy called Arthur used to really annoy her, before he moved away, leaving the young Ms Jermy hopeful she would never see him again.

Eastern Daily Press: Joan Jermy with staff at Windmill Care Home in Rollesby during her 103rd birthday celebration. Joan Jermy with staff at Windmill Care Home in Rollesby during her 103rd birthday celebration. (Image: The Windmill Care Home)

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But years later, once she had separated from her first husband, in Catfield one day Arthur turned up out of nowhere on a motorbike.

Ms Jermy said it was not love at first sight, but Arthur kept chasing her so she ended up marrying him - and it turned out to be a good marriage.

Ms Jermy’s first job was cleaning a bungalow and in the Second World War she worked in factories like the other women of the time - but had to retire in 1974 due to a bad arm.

She enjoyed travelling with Arthur - it didn’t matter where they went, as long as they were together.

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Nowadays, Ms Jermy enjoys reading the paper and watching the television but hates the cold. 

Just looking at the cold, she said, will make her feel chilly, and she always sits covered in several blankets.

She really enjoyed her birthday celebration, having sherry and smoked salmon for her tea. 

“I am on top of the world," she said, "and I am being spoilt.”

Asked about tips for reaching 103, she said: "Well, I have never smoked, and I like just a nibble of sherry, that always helps."

Ms Jermy has two daughters, Margaret and Patricia, from her first husband.