So that's how it's done!

A 100-year-old Englishwoman has a pretty good idea of why and how she's lasted so long.

Lorna Gobey, of Cheltenham, smokes 20 cigarettes a day and regularly enjoys a glass of Guinness with a whisky chaser.

She smoked her first cigarette in 1940 - and reckons she's gone through over half-a-million since then, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Mrs Gobey said: "I've been smoking since I was 30 and have had no problems at all.

"People try and tell you it's bad for you but my family wouldn't dare ask me to stop. If they did, I'd put them across my lap and give them a slapped bum.

"I've always tried to enjoy life. I think it's important to do the things you want to do and not to let things get you down.

"I like my smokes, a drop of whiskey and Guinness and I still love to play skittles. Perhaps it's part of the reason I have lived for so long. I never thought I'd make it to 100, but I have. I'm quite amazed really."

Mrs Gobey, who has 27 grandchildren, 55 great grandchildren and 12 great-great grandchildren, toasted her birthday at her local Labour Club with her favourite tipple.

Her son Bob Fisher, 66, said: "She smokes faster than the rest of us and still loves a drink. She loves bingo, playing a tune on the mouth organ and riding around town in cars."

Maybe I'd better start doing all those things while there's still time!



Peter