Could this Bramles Farm octogenarian be Westlife’s oldest fan?

Sprightly 80-year-old Marjorie Whiteford gave exuberant young concert-goers a run for their money when she saw her favourite pop group play at Newcastle’s Metro Arena.
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"It was so good, I was Flying Without Wings,” she joked, making reference to one of her favourite Westlife hits. “I’ve liked the band for years and always sing along to their songs. I love all kinds of music. “I might be the big 8-0 but I felt like I was 21 again at the concert. “Being this age is absolutely wonderful.”Widow Marjorie, of Pallister Avenue, Brambles Farm, Middlesbrough, is also the longest-standing member of St Thomas’ Church. She’d barely caught her breath after seeing her favourite boy band when the next day friends, family and members of the clergy threw her a surprise party at the church - a chapel within Brambles Primary School. Marjorie started attending the church opposite her house when it opened 72 years ago and was devastated when it was razed to the ground last June. The building fell foul of vandals and general decay, and the church moved to the school. But the relocation hit church numbers hard and existing members are trying to encourage more support from the community. Marjorie and her late husband, Michael, were the first couple to be married at the church in August 1948, and her three children Ann, Irene and Michael, were all christened there. In her teens, Marjorie was an “M&S girl”. She lived in Park End for a few years after she and Michael were married, before moving to Brambles Farm.Fellow church member and warden Joyce Collighan, pictured with Marjorie and Marjorie's son and daughter, Michael and Ann, arranged the surprise party to celebrate Marjorie’s 80th birthday milestone, joined by rural dean Eric Wilson and Father Terry Leithley.Joyce said: “Marjorie is St Thomas’ rock. “She has stood by this church through thick and thin, even ill health. “Other members went to new churches when it was pulled down but not her. “She’s been part of the church since she was a toddler and she’s one of our most faithful members.“She cried for a week when they pulled the church down and has never missed a service.“She’s really remarkable, a lovely person. “She’s very well liked wherever she goes. “People think the world of her.”