MRS T TO RACE AROUND GOODWOOD ON MOBILITY SCOOTER

Edith Turnbull, known as Mrs T, a resident of Bupa’s Pendean House Nursing Home, West Lavington, Midhurst, is looking forward to racing around Goodwood Motor Circuit on her mobility scooter to celebrate her belated 90th birthday on Friday 5 February. Mrs T will attempt to break the track record of the fastest lap around the circuit. Her dream is to complete the race track and pass the chequered flag in first place. Mrs T was born in Kensington, London in 1920 and was the youngest of five children. She worked in London during the war and after contracting Tuberculosis in 1940, was transferred to the London Chest Hospital, before being moved to the Pinewood Sanitorium in Wokingham during the bombing of the London Docks. It was here that Mrs T’s lungs collapsed which required the need for an artificial pneumothorax, which she had for 10 years. In 1954, Mrs T applied to go to Canada, sailing from Liverpool. It is in Canada that she worked in various roles, before purchasing a Morris Minor, and driving across Canada as far as Lake Louise and the Athabasca Glacier. Mrs T has visited many countries during her life, including Scandinavia, Denmark, Holland and Norway. Returning to England in December 1972, Mrs T married in February 1973 and lived in Wimbledon for two years before retiring in Tadworth with her golfer husband. To celebrate her 80th birthday, Mrs T flew to Iceland, returning by Concorde. After battling cancer for five years, Mrs T joined Pendean House as a resident in 2005. Mrs T is passionate about dogs and is regularly seen with the home manager’s Westie. In addition to the race around Goodwood, Mrs T’s adventurous side means she would also like to take a ride in a helicopter and learn to ride a pony. Jackie Travers, home manager at Bupa’s Pendean House Nursing Home, says: “We are pleased to be celebrating this special occasion with Mrs T, and are glad we could make her wish a reality. She is really looking forward to the day and is excited to be driving around Goodwood.”