Birthday girl, Betty, loves solving a good old whodunnit at Little Bramingham Farm in Luton

Resident at Friends of the Elderly’s Luton Residential Care Home, Little Bramingham Farm, shares her passion for mysteries on her 82nd birthday.

For this year’s Book Lovers Day, at Little Bramingham Farm, the award-winning Luton-based residential care home run by charity, Friends of the Elderly, resident, Betty Taylor, has been sharing her love of reading books spanning from Enid Blyton’s adventures to Martina Cole’s murder mystery novels and how much she loves solving a good old fashioned whodunnit.

Betty, who recently celebrated her 82nd birthday, made Little Bramingham Farm her home two years ago, after spending a six-week respite break at the care home. “I thoroughly enjoyed my respite stay,” said Betty. “It was, and still is, so wonderful to have lots of different people and personalities to chat to every day. I made quite a few friends during my original six week stay, so moving here was an extremely easy decision for both me and my family to make.

“I can honestly say that myself and all the residents are so well cared for, every day is like a holiday for us. There’s always something new and interesting going on and to get involved with, we’re never bored or twiddling our thumbs, we’re just too busy having fun.”

Betty, who was born in Southampton, grew up in the London Borough of Barnet. “I was a Hairdresser for many years, which I thoroughly loved. It was nice to be able to chat to all my clients, hear all about their lives and families and give them the hairdos they were after – it was really interesting and no two days were the same. In fact, it’s quite funny as the Cockney rhyming slang for Barnet is Barnet Fair, meaning Hair, so perhaps being a Hairdresser was my destiny,” continued Betty.

“However, the best career decision I made was moving to a hair salon on Tally Ho Corner in North Finchley. It was a really special salon, and a great place to work and such a historic place to be, as back in the 19th Century, the Tally Ho Coach Company had its staging post and horse stables there.”

Betty’s love of reading started at an early age. “I remember that a book by Enid Blyton was the first story anyone ever read to me. My imagination took over and I was swept away on the adventure,” said Betty. “I was, and still am, a Bookworm and as I child I loved going to the local library, it was, for me, a magical place, full of wonder. It was huge with an upstairs area as well as the vast ground floor. The shelves were full of novels, biographies – an absolutely endless selection, and they even had newspaper reading desks, where the papers would be held in place by fancy metal rods so the pages would be straight and not fly away. I usually left with an armful of different books to keep me going through the week.

“Over the years my taste in books and stories changed and now I love nothing more than a good old murder mystery – but it has to be a nice murder, not too gruesome or gory,” continued Betty. “I adore Martina Cole and Lee Childs’ writing. I get so engrossed in the plots and love the twists and turns. Lee Child’s Jack Reacher is a loveable hero and an absolutely fantastic series of books. They are nicely fast paced and keep me gripped from the first page. Martina Cole’s books are also addictive. The way she writes, you can feel the world around the characters, truly gritty and authentic. Mind you, if a book doesn’t have me gripped by the end of the first chapter, it’s a ‘no’ from me, and I move on to the next one.”

“Betty, who is a self-proclaimed Bookworm, also enjoys taking part in all of our wide and varied activities and community events,” said Emma Lawrance, the Registered Manager at Little Bramingham Farm. “She has a very sharp and funny sense of humour and adores having a good natter with all her care home friends and the care team – and is always joining in and getting involved with as many activities and pastimes as possible - she’s an absolute pleasure and joy to support and care for.”                                                                                                                               

Betty, who is a proud mother to four sons – Mark, Robert, Andrew and Lee, and a very proud grandmother and great grandmother to seven grandchildren and one great grandchild, says her secret to a happy life is getting along with people. “Betty is extremely sociable and has many friends at the care home, and definitely gets along with everyone,” continued Karen Charity, the Activities Coordinator at Little Bramingham Farm.

“She’s always up for trying something new and is really artistic and talented which comes to light in our many arts and crafts sessions. Betty is also quite fond of visiting Susie’s Tea Room in our beautiful grounds with her care home friends for a chat, a nice cup of something warm and her favourite, a delicious tea cake.”

“During one of our many reminiscing sessions, Betty really surprised us all,” added Emma. “We were chatting about things we’d be surprised to learn about each other and Betty told us that she used to love Ballroom Dancing and was rather good at the Waltz, Quick Step and Foxtrot – and, on the flip side, that as a child she and her friends used to climb up trees to go apple scrumping, which had the group in giggles.”

“I suppose I’m just like a good book, full of unexpected surprises,” concluded Betty.