Being presented with a sizeable cake was the last thing great-grandmother Eleanor Gibbons expected when she showed up for her weekly keep-fit class session at the Bermuda College.

But then again, it's not everyone who gets to celebrate their 90th birthday working out with their keep-fit friends.

"It was a complete surprise. I was stunned when I walked in, it had been done so beautifully," said Mrs. Gibbons, who prefers to shy away from publicity.

But there was no hiding away when her fellow fitness fanatics decided to pay tribute to her for remaining so keenly active despite her advancing years.

Mrs. Gibbons joined the weekly keep-fit class at the Bermuda College five years ago and enjoys the aerobics workout, even if the others are from younger generations.

"Being my age, my old friends have mostly all gone," she said. "It is lovely to go along and meet others and do the exercise."

No stranger to activity, she was a keen athlete as a youngster competing at high jump and as a runner and also as a shooter at netball.

In her working career she spent a total of 47 years working for the Smith's department store, rising to the position of treasurer before retiring when she was 77.

Mrs. Gibbons, who lives on Harrington Sound Road, has two children, four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Her actual birthday is this Wednesday.

She said: "I'll keep doing the keep-fit for as long as I'm able. We have a wonderful time and have coffee afterwards."