LONDON: A woman who will celebrate her 105th birthday today has attributed her long life to celibacy and staying single.

Ms Clara Meadmore, a retired secretary, who still has her own hair, teeth and sharp wit, never had time for a family and lived alone until going into care.

'I've always had lots of platonic friendships with men but never felt the need to go further than that or marry,' she was quoted as saying in The Telegraph newspaper on Thursday.

Ms Meadmore, who was born in Glasgow and lived in Canada and New Zealand before settling in Cornwall 40 years ago, also added that she had never had any interest in sex.

'I imagine there is a lot of hassle involved, and I have always been busy doing other things.

'When I was a girl, you had sex only with your husband - and I never married. I grew up in an era when little girls were to be seen and not heard, so I had to learn to stand up for myself and earn my own living. Some men don't like that in a woman. Before long, I was too old to marry anyway,' she said.

Ms Meadmore saved up her salary and spent the money going on walking tours in many parts of Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, and she still has the diaries of her trips.

Friend Josie Harvey, who has known her for 30 years, said: 'She was fiercely independent and believed in doing things her own way, and that allowed her to live a long life.

'She has kept a great interest in what is going on in the world, and she is a wonderful source of information.'

Although Ms Meadmore has never owned a television set, she enjoys listening to the radio. She also enjoys cooking, gardening and reading.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Oct 11, 2008.