One of Britain’s oldest women celebrated her 110th birthday today – and revealed the secret to her long life is a daily tot of WHISKY.
Grace Jones, known to her friends as “Amazing Grace”, is the 10th oldest person in the UK.
Yesterday she turned 110 and said her longevity is down to having had a night-cap of Famous Grouse single malt whisky every evening for the last 60 years.
Liverpudlian Mrs Jones was born on September 16, 1906 – five years after the death of Queen Victoria.
She has lived through 27 prime ministers, received seven telegrams from the Queen and survived two world wars.
The mother-of-one, who lives in Broadway, Worcs., said: “I never miss my night cap. All I have is the whisky at night.
“Whisky is very good for you.
“I started having a nightly tot of it when I turned 50 so I’ve been having it every night for the last 60 years and I certainly have no intention of stopping now.
“My doctor said ‘keep up with the whisky Grace, it’s good for your heart’.
“I still feel the same as I did when I was 60.
“The best memory of my life was when I married my husband Leonard. He was a true gentleman, the son of a parson.
“We were always together and we loved one another.
“I feel fine. I feel full of spirit. I have got seven cards from the Queen now. This year’s was a very nice one.
“I have received lots of nice cards and presents this year and they are still coming in.
“We will be here next year as well.”
The former millinery factory owner celebrated her milestone birthday with family and friends at Buckland Manor, a large country estate where she enjoyed a drinks reception followed by lunch – and of course a complimentary glass of whisky.
Her daughter Deirdre McCarthy, 78, said: “My mother is extraordinary. She’s still very particular over her appearance and insists on always looking her best.
“Once she married my father she very much became a lady of leisure.
“She enjoys meeting people and still reads a little and watches television.
“Each week her carer takes her into Broadway where she likes to do a little shopping if the weather is nice; she is in amazing health but her hearing is a little poor.
“She is glamorous, beautiful and intelligent. She is really alert and still with it.
“She loves her tot of whisky every evening before she goes to bed and why not. Whisky is her thing and she’s been having it for the last 60 years.
“I must say I certainly take after her in that regard, it’s the perfect way to unwind at the end of the day and it’s certainly done my mother no end of good.”
Mrs Jones, whose father was a vicar, wed chief engineer Leonard Roderick Jones in 1933 in Liverpool. They were married for 53 years until he died in 1986, aged 79.
She lived in Sidmouth, Devon, with her spouse before moving to relocate with her family in Worcestershire in 2005.