Cookie in the jar: world's oldest virgin

She is no other than Clara Meadmore, 108, retired secretary. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she said ''I've always had lots of platonic friendships with men but never felt the need to go further than that or marry.'' She has lived in Canada and New Zealand before settling in Cornwall 40 years ago. She said she believes there are lots of hassle attached to having sex and prefers to channel the energy into doing something else. “When I was a girl you only had sex with your husband and I never married. I grew up in an era where little girls were to be seen and not heard so I had to learn to stand up for myself and earn my own living.'', she said.

Miss Meadmore at 108 has never owned a TV but she is interested in listening to the radio and is a particular fan of the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour program. She also loves cooking, gardening and reading. She made up her mind at the age of 12 never to get married and she kept it real, folks. Born in 1903 two years after the death of Queen Victoria, she remembers the Titanic sinking and the outbreak of the First World War. On what she had to say about today's youths, ''Everything seems so fast these days. I don't know a lot about young people or the way they do things. I'm sure its very different.
Her only surviving family are two nieces in New Zealand who keep in touch through the post.