Secret to long life is avoiding men claims 109-year-old woman

UK: Celebrating her 109th birthday, Jessie Gallan, who is the oldest woman in Scotland, stunned care workers when they asked for tips on how to live to a ripe old age.

Jessie has never married and was born in a tiny two-room farm cottage.

She puts her old age down to avoiding men and also a daily helping of porridge each morning.

The spinster, who now lives in a care home in Aberdeen, said: "My secret to a long life has been staying away from men. They're just more trouble than they're worth.

"I also made sure that I got plenty of exercise, eat a nice warm bowl of porridge every morning and have never gotten married."

She slept top-to-tail with her five sisters and one brother on a straw-filled mattress before leaving home at 13 to become a milkmaid.

She was then a farm kitchen helper before working at a hotel which was visited by the Queen and Queen Mother while she was there.

 "I always worked hard and seldom would I ever take a holiday. I left home when I was 13 and began a job milking cows.

"I always had good jobs with very nice people. It's amazing to see how completely different the world is now from the one I grew up in."

Jessie celebrated her birthday on January 2 with lunch and a slice of cake at the Crosby House care home in Aberdeen.

Senior support worker Rebecca Streeter said: "Jessie still takes part in the group activities, she likes her exercise.

"She goes to all the concerts and enjoys her church on a Sunday. And obviously she has led a very healthy lifestyle."

Jessie became Scotland's oldest woman following the death of Clare Dawson, of Glasgow, in June 2013 at the age of 109.

The oldest living person in the UK is Ethel Lang, 114, from Barnsley.