100 and not out

IN A few days time Elizabeth Chamberlain will become a centenarian but her energy and sharp mind belie her age.

Elizabeth, lives on her own in Stratford Road, Plaistow, where her daughter Margaret comes everyday to help her with her daily chores and housework.

Elizabeth told the Recorder she attributed her fitness and longevity to home cooking, not drinking or smoking. She doesn’t buy pre-cooked food, preferring to prepare her own from scratch using fresh ingredients bought from local shops.

She remains active in her home although she cannot go walking outdoors due to the aches and pains she has in her legs.

She is in such good health that she only visits her doctor’s surgery just once a year for an annual blood pressure check and flu jab.

Elizabeth is a patient at Vicarage Lane Health Centre, in Vicarage Lane, Stratford, but the staff there have been very impressed with her fitness levels. She was born on January 29 1911.

One of the GPs at the surgery, Dr Shahzada Khan said: “Mrs Chamberlain calls us out for a home visit once a year to give her the flu jab and measure her blood pressure, the rest of the year we never hear from her.

“She has been that way for years. I can count the number of home visits to her in the last five years on one hand.

“For a woman who will turn 100 very soon, I find this truly astonishing. Nothing short of a miracle.

“Mrs Chamberlain is our eldest living patient and yet she lives independently and her voice is always strong and polite on the phone. Her energy and good natured spirit is an example for us all.

“To look into the eyes of someone that was born before the outbreak of the First World War and for her to smile back, I find remarkable. Her mind remains as sharp as ever”.