Kent Resident Gladys Banks Celebrates 108th Birthday

A Kent village community gathered to commemorate a resident born on Christmas Day. Gladys Banks, known as the Queen of Borough Green, reaches 108 years of age today, having been honored with a street party. The entire community assembled on the street outside Gladys’s front garden for an early celebration on November 30. This event coincided with their Christmas lights switch-on, where she was presented with a birthday cake, champagne, and music, as the large crowd sang “Happy Birthday.” Gladys, an admirer of Abba, was observed dancing in her chair while holding a glass of sparkling wine. She remarked: “The people here in Borough Green are so good to me. I’m the Queen of Borough Green, you know, so I practise my wave!” The community has organized a party for her annually since her 100th birthday. “I know there’s lots of old ladies that probably don’t see anybody from one week to another,” stated great-grandmother Gladys, who was born in 1916 during World War One. She added, “I’m very lucky here.” Becky Holdstock, who arranges these celebrations for Gladys, commented: “I just adore her. You can still talk to her like a friend, she’s got everything that you’d possibly ever want at 108. “She’s the most loveliest lady I’ve ever met in my life. She still goes out – she does more than me.”