Selina relishing being treated like a queen

More than 900 beacons nationwide will be lit on the evening of April 21 – and Selina, who turns 90 just four days after the Queen enters her 10th decade, will be treated as a queen for the day as part of Fylde’s celebrations.

As Fylde mayor Coun Peter Hardy’s guest, Selina, of Woodlands Road, Ansdell, will be chauffeured to and from the beacon in the mayor’s limousine and once at Fairhaven she will be greeted by town crier Colin Ballard before singer Duggie Chapman leads the crowd in singing the National Anthem and Happy Birthday.

Selina’s name was put forward after Coun Hardy asked to hear of any local women who shared their 90th birthday with the Queen.

The mayor said: “Mrs Bentley almost shares her birthday with the Queen so she will be my guest – she’ll be Fylde’s own Queen for the evening which I hope will make her birthday something special for her.

“The Queen has done a marvellous job in uniting the nation for 64 years and I’m confident that hundreds of Fylde residents will want to turn out and celebrate her birthday at the beacon.

“Burning beacons go back a long way in English history and I can think of few better ways for residents to come together and wish happy birthday to the Queen.”

Selina, a mother of seven who also has 23 grandchildren, says she is very much looking forward to the day and is a big fan of the Royal Family.

“I am very proud that I was born so close to The Queen,” she said. “My husband Peter was also born in the same year as the Duke of Edinburgh and my mother in the same year as the Queen Mother and I have always followed the Royal Family very closely.”

For her own 90th birthday, Selina is looking forward to being treated to a trip to Northumberland by her daughters. The beacon will be lit at 7.45pm and crowds are expected to arrive from about 7.15. Free parking will be available at Stanner Bank and St Paul’s Avenue car parks.