UK - Croydon man, 102, gets birthday visit from Norton motorbikes club

OFF THE WIRE
ONCE a biker, always a biker, and for his 102nd birthday Charles Harwood knew exactly what he wanted – a classic two-wheeler.
Mr Harwood was a keen motorbike enthusiast when he was younger, and belonged to The Balham Nighthawks motorcycle troupe in the 1920s and 1930s.
And it is a passion that still burns more than 80 years on.
"He jokingly said he wanted a new motorbike for his birthday," said daughter Ann, who at 63 is the youngest of his children.
"I sent a message to the Norton Motorbike Owners Club.
"To my surprise they agreed to bring a couple of bikes down for him to sit on."
Born in Vauxhall in 1910, Mr Harwood spent his early life in Balham before moving to Croydon in the early 1950s, where he has lived ever since.
He now resides at the Clarendon Nursing Home in Zion Place, Thornton Heath.
He was a bricklayer for most of his working life, although worked for the Auxiliary Fire Service during the Second World War, a time he often remembers with sadness and affection.
He married his wife Florence Maude in 1937 and had three children.
After she died in 1998, he moved in with daughter Ann before moving to the home two years ago. Despite turning 102 on March 6, he still manages to play games and have a giggle with everyone else in the home, and even regularly takes part in "chair football".
A surprised Mr Harwood told the Advertiser the motorbikes had been "very good".
Celebrating his 102 years with cake and champagne, he was also sent chocolate motorbikes and presents from his family in Australia. He even received a special letter from Prime Minister David Cameron.
"I had a lovely day," Mr Harwood said. "The people at the care home take brilliant care of me and it's a wonderful place to live."
His daughter, of Cleaver Holme Close in Woodside Green, said she was thrilled with how the day turned out for her father.
"He is just the most amazing dad, and even at 102 he still worries about the kids, even though we aren't kids anymore, far from it," she added.
"He was thrilled the Norton came because he always wanted one in his younger days but could not afford it.
"He is blind and frail but the fantasy is keeping him and the other residents of his nursing home well amused."
http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/Croydon-man-102-gets-birthday-visit-Norton/story-15496655-detail/story.html