AS BRITAIN decides whether to continue its membership of the EU, one Shiplake woman will be gearing up for her 100th birthday.

Florence Brett is ecstatic to be getting a message from the Queen congratulating her on reaching the milestone.

Her niece Jackie Payne, 56, is looking forward to the lavish party being thrown at her care home on June 23 which will include traditional Cockney songs.

Ms Payne said: “Flo came from London and is a real Londoner.

“She loves the entertainment that they have put on for her.”

The jovial atmosphere on the day will be in stark contrast to events that took place two and a half years ago, when Ms Payne found her aunt collapsed on the bedroom floor.

Ms Payne would regularly visit her 99 year-old aunt, but had been fatefully distracted that day by the aftermath of her mother’s death.

She recalled: “Because of my mum dying I was having to deal with her funeral and so I had not been in for two days.

“I found her collapsed on the floor and her sister, who has really bad dementia, thought she was asleep.”

Ms Payne couldn’t face the prospect of a second funeral, but luck intervened after Ms Brett was transferred to Lashbrook House Care Home in Shiplake following the incident.

She has made a remarkable recovery and is now about to go into her 100th year.

Ms Payne thought the transformation in her aunt has been incredible since she moved in along with her sister.

She said: “I just think it is amazing and she is very happy.

“It is a bit of a shame my mum is not here to see this.”

The change has been all the more surprising considering Ms Brett did not want to leave her original home.

Asked what the secret is to Ms Brett’s longevity, Ms Payne joked: “She comes from a family of long-livers.”

Ms Brett’s hairdresser Pauline Woolford said: “When Flo first arrived, she was very unwell and unable to participate in activities or have her hair done. Flo now is very well, and enjoying life at Lashbrook with her sister Rosina.

“I do Flo’s hair every fortnight, and she loves having it done. Flo is such a special lovely lady, and it is a pleasure to spend time with her.”