Former coal miner still playing bowls in Norwich at 100 years old

BBC News

7 hours ago

A former coal miner still playing lawn bowls at 100 years old has shared his secrets to enjoying a full life.Lawrence Mansfield-Foster became a centenarian on Saturday but was still at Victoria Bowling Club in Norwich for his usual game on Monday afternoon.The former RAF policeman, known to his friends as Laurie, was greeted with warm applause from fellow members at the Trafford Road club.And his advice after a century of experience was simple, saying: "Be yourself. Be what you are because a lot of people pretend - and there's no good pretending."
Mr Mansfield-Foster celebrated at Barnham Broom Hotel, near Norwich, at the weekend and was fighting a cold as he spoke to BBC Radio Norfolk.Of his celebration, he said: "Very good indeed. We had a party on Friday night, went up to the golf course, had 65 [people] on Saturday and another 20 on Sunday."He has been playing bowls for 15 years and says that "companionship" is his main motivator, joking that he "used to be" quite a good player.Mr Mansfield-Foster was joined by his wife, Margaret Judith, 88, who explained that they had married in 1972 and moved back to her home city of Norwich in 1980.She said that her husband left school at 14 and started in the mines of the Welsh Valleys with his father before going into farming and later working on the railways.Mrs Judith said: "He's always said farming was more difficult than mining because of being outdoors in all weathers. The farmer wasn't very kind and he had a lot of work to do."
They met in the 1960s when Mr Mansfield-Foster was head of internal services at Concorde at Filton, Gloucestershire, and she was teaching catering in nearby Bristol.Mrs Judith recalls them watching the "wonderful" Concorde test flights from the Clifton Suspension Bridge and was thrilled to see her husband being celebrated."He deserves it. He's worked very hard in his life," she said.Although Mrs Judith does not play bowls herself, she is fully supportive of her husband's hobby."Lawrie plays regularly once a week, sometimes twice a week. Long may it last," she added."The people here are so kind and sociable."
Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.