DROITWICH’S Edna Warner was flying without wings on her 101st birthday after receiving two messages of congratulations worth more than words from members of her favourite band Westlife.
Uptown girl Edna, a resident at Woodland View care home, celebrated the incredible milestone on Saturday with a party dedicated to her favourite band along with family and staff.
The Westlife superfan, whose favourite song is ‘You Raise Me Up’, was delighted when she received a special birthday message and call from Westlife’s Nicky Byrne.
Nicky and Edna were in a world of their own during the call, during which he invited her to come and see Westlife in Cardiff in July.
The Westlife superstar asked Edna for the secret to living to 101 and she told him to ‘just behave himself and do as he’s told.’
Edna had Nicky in stitches when she told him her favourite member of the band was actually Mark Feehily.
And before leaving, Nicky led Edna’s party in a rendition of ‘happy birthday’.
The Westlife celebrations continued after the call as Edna watched one of their concerts on TV.
And earlier this week Westlife lit up Edna’s life once again as she received a video message from her ‘favourite’ Mark.
He said he hoped she had celebrated her birthday in style.
Other amazing presents included handmade birthday cards from local schools, while residents from Bromsgrove and Droitwich have also sent in their many happy returns.
Woodland View staff started putting appeals out on Westlife social media fan pages to arrange the surprises for Edna’s special day with one of them even getting banned from Facebook for it.
Eventually, a member of the public contacted the care home with an email address for Nicky Byrne’s sister.
Home manager Lisa Dews had a pleasant shock on Saturday when Nicky called and rushed over to Woodland View so he could speak to the birthday girl.
Lisa said: “Edna was really overwhelmed, she’s still talking about it today and asking when July is so she can see Westlife.
“She’s been over the moon and loved her birthday and all the attention she’s been getting from all over the world.”
