Tennis star Ann still a smash hit aged 95
Ann Hawkins knows her way around a tennis court as well as any Wimbledon champion having played the game for the past 80 years.
And with her 95th birthday just passed, she may not cover the ground like she used to, but her passion for the sport has not faded.
Ann, who lives in Pattingham, has been a member at Albert Lawn Tennis Club, Tettenhall, since 1969.
Her name appears on the club's honours board four times and over the past 50 years she has played in competitions across the West Midlands.
She now plays largely with friends at a more leisurely pace.
"I am not really playing very much now," Ann explains. "I'm not up to playing the men, they hit it so hard.
"I mostly play now on private courts belonging to four of my friends. Every two or three months the four of us play.
"I keep saying I must stop - I can't run anymore - but they say I must keep on going. They are very encouraging.
"They have to adapt their game to me. They know it is no good doing a drop shot. They are very kind.
"I think it is all out of kindness they let me play - but I did throw them all a party on my birthday."
Ann, who grew up in Hertfordshire, first picked up a racquet in 1935, aged 15, while a pupil at Hitchin Grammar School.
The Second World War had a profound effect on her life, setting her on a path that saw her travel the world.
With the Nazi demise in 1945, Ann went to work in Germany for the Control Commission, among whose work it was to rehabilitate schools. She worked as a teacher and helped to set up pupil exchanges.
When the project was brought to a close, Ann went to live with her brother in Durban and later her cousin in Nairobi, during which time she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
Throughout her adventures Ann always found time for a game of tennis and used the sport as a way to make friends.
"I have done a lot of travelling and wherever I have been I have joined the local tennis club to help me get to know people and to socialise," she said.
On her return to England, Ann took a teaching post at the Parents' National Education Union School in Tettenhall, now Newbridge Preparatory School, and stayed there for the rest of her working life.
It was during this period she became a regular at Albert Lawn, where she would play with her late husband. Around a decade ago she was made a honorary life member.
Ann added: "It has always been about the social side of things for me. After you play you are able to sit around and chat.
"I just enjoy the exercise too and trying to play different shots and thinking about where to place the ball.
"I am not a great watcher of tennis. I don't sit glued to the screen when Wimbledon is on. I have always preferred doing to watching."
Even outside of tennis Ann has had an incredibly active life, particularly in the years following retirement.
For the past 20 autumns she has enjoyed picking grapes at Halfpenny Green Vineyards, Bobbington, in exchange for bottles of wine.
And to celebrate her 80th birthday she climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Ann is currently a member of three different walking clubs in Wolverhampton and Bridgnorth and just last year she scaled the Wrekin, Shropshire.
At 95 she still has no intention of slowing down - and credits her current healthy state to consistent exercise.
"I am very fit so I think the tennis has been a massive help. Most people are using sticks or have got some aches and pains by the time they are 95.
"I like gardening too. It all keeps you on your feet and that has been the key."
