On a bright autumn day in Yate, balloons and bunting decorated a communal lounge at Ladden View as family and staff gathered to mark a remarkable personal milestone. Ruby Harris, affectionately known around the home as “Queen Ruby”, reached her 100th birthday this month, celebrated with two parties and a chorus of well‑wishers that reflected her long ties to the town.
A full‑circle celebration at the care home
Ruby, who was the very first person to move into Ladden View when it opened in November 2024, has since become a familiar sight to passers‑by. Staff and relatives said she would often wave from her window and attract the attention of local children heading home from school, who learned to pause and wave back.
The centenary was marked in two stages. A smaller gathering of fellow residents at the home offered a quiet toast, followed by a larger, private party attended by more than 20 members of Ruby’s family. Cakes were prepared by the home’s head chef and the day featured music, reminiscence and the kind of gentle humour that comes with reaching a century.
Roots in Bath and Bristol
Born in Bath on 13 September 1926, Ruby later became a well‑known local trader in Bristol where she ran Rogers and Harris greengrocers. She married Howard in Horfield in 1944, and the couple had four children — Dennis, Ann, Martyn and Jane — who now form part of a sizeable extended family of grandchildren and great‑grandchildren.
The story of Ruby’s life, told through these family connections and the memories held at Ladden View, resonated with staff. Vicky Williams, deputy home manager, said celebrating the milestone for the home’s original resident felt like a full circle moment for the team.
“Behave, eat your food and maybe have a whiskey!”
The pithy line above, offered when she was asked for the secret to long life, drew laughter and encapsulated the mixture of modesty and warmth that characterises Ruby’s presence.
What the home provides
Ladden View, which offers residential, dementia and respite care, is equipped with facilities intended to support day‑to‑day life and social contact: a cinema, hair salon and café are listed among the amenities. Staff say those communal spaces and the visible place residents hold in the neighbourhood help foster relationships with the wider Yate community.
- Ruby Harris: born 13 September 1926 (aged 100)
- First resident at Ladden View (opened November 2024)
- Family: four children, plus grandchildren and great‑grandchildren
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth | 13 September 1926, Bath |
| Marriage | Married Howard in Horfield, 1944 |
| Local business | Former owner of Rogers and Harris greengrocers, Bristol |
Staff at Ladden View described the events as an honour to organise, noting how celebrations such as these knit together generations of a family and create memories for residents and carers alike. The home’s deputy manager expressed gratitude to everyone who joined the celebrations, describing Ruby as part of both the Ladden View family and the broader Yate community.
For many residents, being seen and recognised by the town offers a daily reassurance. Ruby’s habit of waving from her window and the reciprocal response from local children is one small illustration of how care homes and their neighbours can develop understated, sustaining links.
As she cut the cake and exchanged embraces with relatives, Ruby’s preference for plain pleasures — good food, company and an occasional dram — summed up a life lived close to the ordinary comforts that matter in later years. For staff and family, marking 100 years was not just a celebration of longevity but a moment to acknowledge the person behind the milestone: a former business owner, a wife and mother, and a figure who has quietly become part of Yate’s communal life.
