14/09/10 Joe celebrates his 100th birthday

joe

Former fish and chip shop owner Joe celebrates his 100th birthday

 

A MAN who once had people queuing round the block for his fish suppers has celebrated his 100th birthday.

Joseph Weston, moved from Sheffield  to Fiskerton, near Lincoln, in the mid-1970s, six months after retiring from his fish and chip shop aged 65.

He and his late wife, Lavinia, moved from South Yorkshire to be nearer relatives already living in the village.

Born on September 13, 1910, Mr Weston celebrated his centenary with villagers in Fiskerton Village Hall

The centenarian said: “If you look after yourself you will get to 100. Always eat well and sleep well.”

Dignitaries at the party included chairman of West Lindsey District Councillor Owen Bierley, who toasted “good health, good fortune and many more years”.

The assembled guests sang happy birthday to Mr Weston and enjoyed afternoon tea and birthday cake.

Chairman of the village hall events committee, Robert Wall, said: “He has long been a supporter of the village cricket and football teams and up until fairly recently he was a keen gardener who grew a lot of his own produce.

“He has a lot of anecdotes from his past and he is a real inspiration to everyone in the village.”

Mr Weston said one of his earliest memories was a German zeppelin raid on Sheffield during the First World War when bombs missed the gas works and ended up in a river.

During the Second World War he worked for the War Office.

And he says his chip shop was second to none.

“I had queues outside every night I only sold the best,” Mr Weston said.

One of his many friends, Pauline Perrin, 60, of Lincoln Road, Fiskerton, said he was a true gentleman.

She said: “He’s just so nice. He’s such a lovely man.”