Mobile library delivers a birthday treat to 103-year-old reader
Margaret Williams has just celebrated her 103rd birthday with a special visit from Warwickshire’s Mobile Library.
Mrs Williams is Warwickshire Mobile Library Service’s oldest customer and has been using the service since she moved to Lapworth with her family in 1981.
The liveried Romeo and Juliet themed vehicle made its regular stop at the bottom of the Williams family’s drive but this time with the head of the service on board with a birthday bouquet of flowers.
Mrs Williams said: ”I’ve done very well with the mobile library over the years and it has always stopped at the gate. I can remember when we first moved here, I wanted a library and we saw the regulars with quantities of books walking up to the van.”
An avid reader all of her life, Mrs Williams was born in Rochdale in 1906 and was the child of a bookseller. She was a student at Manchester High School before reading Physics at Manchester University.
She said: “Reading was and is an essential part of education and I have for many years been interested in words.”
It is estimated that Mrs Williams has read thousands of books in her lifetime. Although the deterioration of her eyesight means she can’t read for long periods of time, she still enjoys reading from her large print library books each day.
Janet Everett, Mobile and Community Services Manager for Warwickshire County Council, presented Mrs Williams with a bouquet of flowers and said: ”Mrs Williams is a wonderful example of someone who has enjoyed a lifelong love of reading.
"We make over 500 stops across Warwickshire to bring the library to our customers and meeting people like Mrs Williams is one of the true joys of the job.”