100-year-old theatre usher celebrates by seeing show

A theatre usher has celebrated what she called a "day of surprises" on her 100th birthday.

Cilla Morris, who has been volunteering at Shanklin Theatre on the Isle of Wight since her 80s, was treated to afternoon tea and a trip to the Mayflower Theatre to see Miss Saigon.

"I didn't expect anything like this at all, it's overwhelming," she told the BBC.

Cilla grew up in East Cowes and was born in 1926, the same year John Logie Baird demonstrated the world's first television, the first Winnie-the-Pooh book was published, silent film star Buster Keaton starred in The General, and impressionist painter Claude Monet died.

She was evacuated to Hampshire during the bombings in World War Two where she later met her future husband Bill.

They married in 1947 and lived in London, but Cilla returned to the island a few years after her husbands death in 1998.

She said she had made "so many friends" since working at the theatre.

"Whenever there's a show and I'm going to do a turn, I do look forward to it," she said.

"I get to watch all of them… but they tell me not to go to very loud band shows, so that rules out Freddie Mercury, who's my favourite.

"But no, I enjoy it and I like to look after the people that come in wheelchairs, because usually that's where I sit, and it's important that everybody can enjoy live performance."

Cilla made the trip to Southampton via ferry to celebrate her big day, but said she already "had several parties and I've got some more to go to, so I've been having a very busy and very nice time".

"They're all so kind and they all treat me so nicely and today is a real surprise."

Louise Bond from Shanklin Theatre said: "We wanted to arrange something really special for her without her knowing, so we didn't really know what to do.

"You can't give a 100-year-old lots of presents. I think she's got nearly a hundred cards now.

"We were just discussing it and someone in the bar called Penny suggested going to see Miss Saigon."

During her birthday day out Cilla also received a birthday card from the King and Queen.

"I didn't get a cheque though," she quipped.

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