ST ARVANS’ most familiar face received one of the biggest shocks of her life after walking into a surprise birthday party last week.

Fondness for shop owner Jean Davies was exhibited as The Piercefield was packed out for her 80th birthday party on Wednesday 18th October.

Jean has run the Parkfield stores since 1974 and still opens seven days a week, seeing most of the village in the process, so it was even more surprising that not a single word of the party slipped out.

She said: “I was shocked, it was the best kept secret ever, I just didn’t have a clue at all. It was wonderful but I didn’t have a clue.

“You’d expect me to know all of the secrets of this village but that was one that I didn’t know.”

Jean couldn’t believe how many people had come out for her and said their kindness was one of the reasons why she had stayed there.

She said: “It was lovely, it is a beautiful village and the people are lovely, if they weren’t all so nice then I wouldn’t be here.

“I should thank Victoria and Terry for organising it and everybody else who sent all the cards and flowers and

presents.”

She also received some money toward a dream trip to see André Rieu in The

Netherlands.

She said: “I do like André Rieu, and he is in Maastricht. I have seen him in London but this is open air, so I have been talking about that and I have some money safe to do that now. It should be great.”

While those in the village have become almost like a second family Jean, can enjoy another celebration at the weekend with her family who came to visit.