Born in Southampton, Roy’s first trip to sea was in 1956 as a deck boy on the Queen Mary. He came to New Zealand in 1970 and went fishing for 46 years – all over the world. After succumbing to health problems and finding himself in need of care, he chose George Manning because of its proximity to the sea.

“I picked this room, it’s in a good spot with a garden view and all the rooms have bathrooms – it’s even got a door if I want to escape. Not that I’m going anywhere, it’s great here.”

In fact, he couldn’t think of a more ideal place to be. “I drive my chair up to Barrington Mall to the shops, and my partner lives nearby. She takes me home to lunch every Sunday and pops in a few times a week.”

Roy delivers the crosswords every morning and one of his favourite delivery stops is to Rima. “She’s 101 this year, she does all the activities including bowls. She puts her longevity down to mixing with young people – I’m pretty sure she’s talking about me.”

Roy says he has a bit of a reputation for being cheeky but that’s okay because ‘the staff here love me.’ And that feeling is mutual. “They’re amazing, they’d do anything for you and it’s always with a smile.”

He’s quick to include the chef in his high praise. “The other day we had apple and blueberry pie so I went to the chef and told her it was the best pudding I’d ever had, and our whole table agreed on that.”