This is our special member Elsie Nichols who is 95 and still coming to two classes a week.
This is her story:

I started with the Fitness League in the Presbyterian Hall in Orewa on the day they opened up in the Hibiscus Coast on 27th May 1985. Jill Nutsford was our teacher.

It was then moved to the hall in Silverdale in July 1985 and it is still there today. Back in those days you had to be invited to go from the beginners class to the next class and from there to the sequence class which had a very high standard.

We were called the Women’s League of Health and Beauty. Our outfits were black satin bloomers and a white satin blouse. We said we had the health but we are “still waiting” for the beauty!!

Olive Morrison took over from Jill as our teacher and we continued to bloom, Olive celebrated 35 years of classes in the hall with a special cake which I helped to cut.  We now have Jennie Hanvey as our teacher and the class is still a great place to exercise on a Monday morning after 39 years.

I also go to the class at the Hibiscus Coast RSA on Thursday morning.  Here you meet different members and we all come together at Christmas for our special end of year luncheon with lots of quizzes and a fun time.

I do enjoy my classes, so I hope to keep going for a while. Being 95 is not too bad and I am still fit so I hope to keep going and going and going.

We love having you in class Elsie and you set a great example for all of us to follow.