They say 11-11 is a lucky number, often used as a time to make a wish. We certainly agree that it is a very special number as 11.11 marks the birth of the wonderful Ruth Wood who, this November 11th, turned 101 years young.
We sat down with the birthday girl and learnt all about her life, her diet and her tips for success…
Ruth Wood has lived an incredibly eventful life; she was brought up in a little village and left school at just 14 where she went on to pursue a job in a factory making radios. As the war broke out, she left this role to serve in the forces where she met her husband. Ruth explained that being in the army helped further her education greatly with the variety of jobs she was assigned. After the war, she worked at Warwick Woollens for a total of 10 years and then Simpsons in Piccadilly for 13 years.
Today, she resides in the local area and is supported by her daughter and the team at Bishop Ridley Church. Unfortunately, Ruth suffered a bad accident around 4 months ago and she expresses her utmost gratitude to the team at Bishop Ridley who have been taking great care of her.
Ruth’s typical day now mainly consists of cooking, reading, housework, art and doing puzzles but before the lockdown, she often frequented the ICS lunch clubs, events at her church, and the ICS dances.
As for Ruth’s secret to maintaining such tremendous health, she eats half a big orange every day and avoids alcohol in the week. Additionally, in an average day she’ll have cornflakes or boiled eggs with marmalade toast for breakfast followed by a nice hot coffee and a biscuit sometimes. For lunch, it is often a ready meal, sausages, fish fingers or fish and chips. Ruth enjoys a sandwich or biscuits and cheese for an evening snack and loves a roast for a Sunday dinner. She indulges in this with a nice glass of sherry but will only have a drink on the weekend.
Being such a spirited and vibrant woman, we just had to ask Ruth for some of her top tips she’s accumulated in her life that she lives by:
1. Be a fighter
2. Work hard
3. Don’t let setbacks get you down; pick yourself back up
4. It is okay to accept help
5. Don’t isolate yourself
6. Think positively
7. Don’t dwell on the negatives
8. Keep smiling
Ruth is also a devoted Christian and believes that her faith gives her strength, and that God helps her greatly.
From the whole team here at Irish Community Services, we want to wish Ruth Wood a very Happy 101st Birthday. Here’s to 102!