Meadowridge resident Marjorie Plimsoll turned 100 on Tuesday May 15. The milestone birthday was celebrated with a high tea and drinks with extended family flying in from as far as Britain and America.
Ms Plimsoll is in excellent health and still lives in her original flat at Anchusa Court, where she has stayed for the past 20 years.
Born on the Hlobane coal mine, near Vryheid, Natal, towards the end of World War I, she was the youngest of four children.
Her father, Jack Wynn, was the mine accountant, having emigrated from England. Her mother, Susan, was a first cousin of General Louis Botha who enjoyed popping round for Sunday lunch.
Ms Plimsoll’s schooling was at Maritzburg Girls’ High, where she was a boarder. She excelled at sport, particularly tennis and hockey and had a special love for golf.
To this day, she is an avid TV follower of tennis, golf and cricket. As a purist, she prefers the five-day game and would often spend all five days at a Newlands Test.
Her bowls career spanned 42 years where she won numerous trophies over the years.
After working in Durban for an estate agent during the war years, she moved down to Cape Town where she met Bill Plimsoll, whom she later married in 1947. Bill, who died in 1972, was a descendant of Samuel Plimsoll, who devised the Plimsoll Line of ships in the 1800s.
Having had a life-long love of Kirstenbosch, she still enjoys a gentle walk in the gardens followed by tea and scones. Ms Plimsoll loved sewing and drawing and is a talented calligrapher, still creating her own greetings cards.
She puts her longevity down to “everything in moderation”… and an occasional brandy.
Ms Plimsoll will celebrate her birthday with her family at her son Brian Plimsoll’s house and at Anchusa tomorrow Friday May 18.
She has three children, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
