A WEST Belfast man has been sent a special letter and gift from the President to mark his upcoming 104th birthday.
Terry Sharpe from Kashmir Road will celebrate another milestone on August 27. Last week, he received a letter and special commemorative coin from Michael D Higgins.
Terry, whose father Albert famously starred in the hit Disney classic Darby O’Gill and the Little People, is now enjoying some well-earned fame himself.
"I came from a family of three boys and three girls and grew up in the Oldpark, then to Iveagh," he said
Terry jokingly bites the coin to make sure it's real
"I moved to the Springfield Road when I got married in 1946 and had three sons.
"In my working life, I worked in the coach building business."
Terry became a signwriter and is perhaps more famously known for painting the Bushmills bottles on the old Ulsterbus.
"My father always said the entertainment business was too precarious," he added.
"I have been asked many times what my secret to a long life is. I don't attribute it to anything other than I never worried too much about anything. I wasn't a career person. I liked my holidays and that was about it."
It is clear that the entertainment industry runs through Terry’s blood with his son, Terry Jr being the lead singer with The Adventures who had several hits in the 1980s.
"I have been very lucky to enjoy his love, his joy and his positivity for so long," said Terry Jr.
