Hundred-year-old Grandma Makes Birthday Wish, Gets Three Harleys!
U.K. biker Margaret Borrowdale also received another surprise at her century-mark party: a telegram from the Queen of England.
A great-grandmother in the United Kingdom recently proved it’s never too late to indulge in your love of Harleys. Margaret Borrowdale received at least a few special surprises at her 100th birthday party, including three bikes from Gateshead Harley-Davidson. Alas, Borrowdale didn’t get to keep the bikes or ride one. But we’re guessing she recalled fond memories at seeing the bikes at her party.
Borrowdale and her husband used to ride a Harley around England in their younger years. At first, the couple rode a tandem bicycle around the northeast part of the country. Once they started a family, those outings had to change.
“My mum and dad had a tandem but when I came along I’m afraid they had to sell that and they bought the Harley-Davidson,” Borrowdale’s 75-year-old daughter June Hetherington told Chronicle Live. “Then they built sidecars so that we could go all over.”
The small family’s excursions included trips to Scotland and Cornwall. “We used to go to Lake Ullswater quite a lot and all over the country, really,” Hetherington says. “Weekends or every Sunday if we couldn’t get away for the weekend we would just go away for the day.”
Besides daughter June, Borrowdale has two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Borrowdale’s spouse, Bill Borrowdale, passed away in 1990.
Borrowdale’s 100th party with family and friends was held at West Farm Care Centre, an assisted-living facility in Longbenton. With the help of her walker, Borrowdale shimmied along to the birthday music as she admired the shiny black motorcycles. The guys from Gateshead Harley-Davidson also presented the 100-year-old with a specially-wrapped present. We’re hoping it was a leather jacket and riding cap.
At her Harley party, Borrowdale also received a special surprise from someone almost as important as Harley-Davidson: The Queen of England! “I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion,” the Queen wrote in Borrowdale’s greeting card.
Borrowdales’s 100th birthday celebration didn’t end there. A bigger “afternoon tea” party was held a few days later at The Biscuit Factory. Over 80 people attended the party. Special guests included two singers and friends whom Borrowdale hadn’t seen in years.
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