Secret to a long life? Jelly babies instead of men says Nellie, 109

A SCARBOROUGH woman who is one of Yorkshire's oldest residents has celebrated her 109th birthday with friends, and put the secret of her longevity down to preferring jelly babies to men.

Nellie Wright celebrated with a champagne party with fellow residents at The Lodge, in Westbourne Road, Scarborough.

Originally from Leeds, Miss Wright came to live in the resort in 1972 after enjoying regular holidays there.

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Before that she lived in Lancashire for 51 years and worked for her father who owned a bespoke clothing business.

Miss Wright said: “I’ve stayed away from men all my life - full stop.

“That’s my secret, no men. And living off jelly babies - I eat a packet a day.”

Miss Wright added: “I think it’s marvellous that I’ve been able to live this long.

“I had a wonderful party and I’ve had a wonderful life.”

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Care manager Tracy Wood said: “She’s very friendly and pleasant. She likes to be called Miss Wright as well as Nellie, she’s quite particular.

“She takes part in the quizzes, she is really good, she knows everything.

“She’s a wonderful lady.”

Miss Wright also puts her long life, health and fitness down to being a keen walker.

She used to enjoy going on walking holidays and once climbed Ben Nevis.

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At 109 she still has a very active mind and is full of stories, and loves to take part in the quizzes at the Lodge.

Ms Wood added: “She says her secret is no men, she has never been married or had a boyfriend.

“She had a party on the Sunday which was her actual birthday, we had Champagne and the Mayor came to visit.

“She just had a really good day.”

WHAT MADE THE HEADLINES IN 1907

• Rudyard Kipling becomes First Englishman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature

• Sir Robert Baden-Powell forms Boy Scouts in England

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• The “Mud March” organised by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies

• Harry Houdini escapes from chains underwater at Aquatic Park in San Francisco in 57 seconds

• Florence Nightingale becomes the first woman to receive the Order of Merit

• Oklahoma becomes the 46th state of the Union

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