Lipstick and smiles are the secret as Laurieston's Nan Davies turns 100

Family has always meant to the world to Nan Davies and she loved her birthday afternoon tea at the Grange Manor Hotel in Grangemouth with many of her relatives where she was fittingly the centre of attention on her special day.

Born Nan Grant on July 26, 1922, she was one of five sons and two daughters, and was raised in the family home in Brightons by parents, George and Charlotte Grant.

She attended Wallacestone Primary School before moving to the then Falkirk Technical School.

When it was time to find employment Nan didn’t have to look far and her working life began in Redding Co-op. Over the years she worked in several other Co-op branches eventually finishing up in the drapery in Polmont.

When World War Two broke out she worked as an engineer in the tool room making shells with George Cohen and Sons in Leeds.

After the war she returned to this area and worked in the British Aluminium in Bainsford.

There she was to meet her life-long partner Jimmy Davies. The couple married and set up home in Laurieston until Jimmy’s death in 1987.

Nan continues to live independently in Laurieston.

While bringing up her family, Nan worked in several shops in Falkirk, including Bargain Kings in the Cow Wynd and Dorothy Brookes in Princes Street, where even after her retiral she could be found lending a helping hand to her former colleagues.

Her family say Nan still has a passion for clothes and shoes, and most days still has her lipstick and earrings on, but say she is guaranteed to always “to be wearing a smile”.

She doesn’t smoke or drink but did occasionally enjoy a game of bingo.

Her daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all live locally and family are very important to Nan.

In particular, she loves visits from her two great-grandchildren, Sonny Grant, who will be two in September, and little Goldie Smith. Born on February 9 this year, five-month-old Goldie and her great-gran span a century but love time in each other’s company.