NOT much knitting was done at the Knit and Natter group who meet at Crediton Methodist Church each week when regular member Miss Irene Sankey celebrated her 99th birthday.

The group was joined by some Miss Sankey's friends from Redvers House, where she lived until moving recently to Hillbrow Residential Home.

Miss Sankey had two cakes for her birthday. One, iced and with a candle, made by Connie Gardner, the other, a coffee and walnut delight, made by Cathryn Babos.

She also received a number of cards, including a long letter from the Moldovan family she supports. They say they regard her as their Baboushka. There are 20 young people in the family, several of them adopted.

Miss Sankey began her nurse training in 1931, became a district nurse, a Queen's nurse, became a Queen's Visitor and, in 1957, joined the World Health Organisation in Singapore to train the first health visitors and district nurses there. She was awarded the MBE in 1976 and published her memoirs in 2001.