A Cheadle care home resident who is celebrating her 100th birthday recommends that people “stay single” if they want to live a long life.
Joyce Preston is marking a milestone that not many people get to reach in their lifetimes, as she impressively turned 100 years of age a couple of weeks back on 20 March, and so naturally, she’s been taking some time to reflect and look back on the decades she’s been lucky enough to spend on this earth.
Not only that, but the Stockport centenarian has also shared what she believes is the key to living a long life in the hopes it’ll help others to do the same.
She may currently be a resident at Care UK’s Abney Court Care Home, in Abney Hall Park in Cheadle, at the moment, but Joyce was born in Stockport on 20 March 1924.
Making the decision to never get married, Joyce instead decided to focus on her career at the Shirley Institute – which was a research centre for the cotton industry – and after years of her hard work, she went on to become the head of the company’s office in Didsbury.
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Joyce Preston, from Stockport, is celebrating her 100th birthday / Credit: Care UK (Supplied / Family Handout)
Joyce has visited many countries across the world throughout her life, thanks to a shared love of travelling on cruises with her close friends, and reveals she was the most fond of her time spent in the Middle East in particular.
Aside from travelling, Joyce has always had a passion for singing, and she spent many years performing with her local choir.
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But what exactly does she owe her 100 years to then? What does she reckon is the key to living a long and healthy life? Well, we’ll need to go back to the ‘never marrying’ part to find the answer for that, as Joyce has attributed her impressive longevity to “staying single”, and ultimately, having fun.
“I really enjoyed the day,” Joyce said, after celebrating her 100th birthday in style during a party at Abney Court last month, that was complete with a cake specially-prepared by the home’s Head Chef, and a performance by the choir she used to be a was a part of.
Abney Court Care Home in Cheadle, where Joyce is a resident / Credit: Care UK
“I especially enjoyed seeing my friends and family, and I loved the choir as it brought back memories of my time in the choir, so that made my day.”
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Zoe Smart, who is the Home Manager at Abney Court, said it was an “honour” to celebrate Joyce’s birthday with her, as she is “a beloved resident” and that everything the home does centres around “supporting residents to live fulfilling lives”.
“We are always eager to mark special occasions,” Zoe added.
“Joyce’s 100th birthday was no exception, and it was a delight to hear her sound advice for living a long and happy life and all about her travels in her younger years.”
Featured Image – Care UK
Trending
Manc music legends James announced MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
Trending
Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Emily Sergeant -
11th April 2024 
