A GRANDMOTHER celebrated her birthday last weekend in the very place she was born 80 years ago – a St Albans pub.
Jean Sharpe was joined by her children and grandchildren at what was once known as the Fleur de Lys but is now called the Snug Bar on Saturday where they enjoyed a birthday drink.
Jean was born in the Fleur de Lys in 1931 where her grandmother, Elizabeth Darbin, was the licensee and the family ran a vegetable stall outside the pub. Her parents, Jim and Mary Ottley, n�e Darbin, were living with her grandmother at the time of her birth but eventually moved to Watford Road.
Jean was one of three children although her sister Joyce died at an early age and her brother Geoff was killed during World War Two. Jean married Roy Sharpe in 1956 and together they had three children – Tessa, Tina and Christopher.
Tina said the family, who went on to have a meal in a nearby restaurant, had a fun day and her mother was very surprised to learn she would be photographed back where it all began.
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