"There's fun in everything"

Please note: this post is 72 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

"That one is called Emerald... I can't remember that one's name... Fire? And that's Lilac - my great grandson gave me that a few weeks ago." 

Anita truly is the Mother of Dragons. Dotted around Anita's flat, her dragons peer down from high shelves, perch on the windowsill and curl around the end tables. And just like her dragons, Anita is a firecracker in the very best sense of the word. 

"Oh, I spit fire," Anita tells me with a twinkle in her eye as we sit down with a cup of tea (my mug says 'Crazy Dragon Lady' on it, of course). "The kids all know to watch out!" 

(below: Anita sporting purple tinsel at a Social Club)

Anita is a regular at our South London Cares Social Clubs, mainly the dances, Choir and her favourite - Desert Island Discs, where Anita claims to have started the dancing trend! 

With an infectious laugh and a smile that beams from ear to ear, Anita is an adventurous soul. Her attitude to life is truly inspiring. Her motto? "There's fun in everything; you just have to find it."

(Below, left to right: Anita having fun in the Emirates cable car, dressing up as a punk for her children in the 70's, and playing with her children one Christmas)

Born in Liverpool, Anita spent most of her childhood exploring. "By the time I was 9, I knew Liverpool like the back of me hand." On the way home from school, Anita would detour down different roads and streets to explore her city. "I never got home until about 9 o'clock! And usually with a policeman pulling me by the ear!"  

Her favourite place to go? Down to the docks to sit and watch the sailors. "They'd be going 'go home little girl' so I'd end up back in the police station with a clip round the ear. Those were the days!" Anita laughs as she remembers. 

(Below: Anita in London)

Anita's love of dragons comes from the time she spent in Wales, where she lived from the ages of 10 to 16 before moving to London. She originally wanted to be a Wren in the Royal Navy, but when she learnt that women weren't allowed to go to sea ("Well, that's no bloody good!") so Anita moved to London and worked her way through a whole host of jobs. 

She's been a typist at the then Ministry of Health ("I hated it - you couldn't play, you couldn't talk, you just had to sit there and do your work") she's worked as a kite maker ("you get the salt of the earth in them places") and sold everything from records to late availability holidays.

Her sense of fun and adventure go hand-in-hand with her sense of mischief. "Don't tell me no. Don't tell me I can't. Because I'll show you I can! And how quickly I can do it!" Anita tells me that she's is always playing jokes (although, I'm sure she'll be the first to deny it!) 

One joke I hope she won't mind me sharing is known in her family as, "Grannying a bench". When Anita goes for walks with her family and they want to sit down, but all the benches are taken, her family will tell her, "go and granny the bench!" So, she'll go up to whoever is sitting there and "start spouting all sorts of rubbish" until they leave! 

Spending the afternoon with Anita, hearing her stories and sharing lots of laughs was an absolute joy. Anita literally laughs in the face of whatever life throws her way. She truly is proof that age doesn’t matter when it comes to having fun!