Your trusted source

The oldest woman in Scotland has celebrated her 109th birthday and says the secret to a long life is plenty of porridge - but no men, the Daily Mail reports.

Centenarian Jessie Gallan, who has never married, was born in a tiny two-room farm cottage.

She slept top-to-tail with her five sisters and one brother on a straw-filled mattress before leaving home at 13 to become a milkmaid.

She was then a farm kitchen helper before working at a hotel which was visited by the Queen and Queen Mother while she was there.

Miss Gallan, who now lives in a care home in Aberdeen, said: 'My secret to a long life has been staying away from men. They're just more trouble than they're worth.

'I also made sure that I got plenty of exercise, eat a nice warm bowl of porridge every morning and have never gotten married.

'I always worked hard and seldom would I ever take a holiday. I left home when I was 13 and began a job milking cows.

'I always had good jobs with very nice people. It's amazing to see how completely different the world is now from the one I grew up in.'

Miss Gallan celebrated her birthday on January 2 with lunch and a slice of cake at the Crosby House care home in Aberdeen.

Senior support worker Rebecca Streeter said: 'Jessie still takes part in the group activities, she likes her exercise.

'She goes to all the concerts and enjoys her church on a Sunday. And obviously she has led a very healthy lifestyle.'

Miss Gallan became Scotland's oldest woman following the death of Clare Dawson, of Glasgow, in June 2013 at the age of 109.

The oldest living person in the UK is Ethel Lang, 114, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire.