Woman, 105, who still lives in house she was born in shares secret to long life
A 105-year-old woman who still lives in the house she was born in has revealed the secret to a long life.
Elsie Allcock was born in the two-bed terraced house in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire, in 1918 at the end of World War I.
She and her late husband bought the home in 1957 for £250 and she now lives there with her son Raymond, 76.
Read more: Quiz: How well do you know Queen Camilla as she celebrates her 76th birthday - Yahoo Life UK, 2-min read
The mum of two, who has six grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren, says she attributes her long life to "not sitting idle".
Allcock and her son do not have an internet connection, mobile phones, and don’t use emails.
Raymond moved in with his mother nearly 30 years ago when his dad became ill. Most mornings, he gets up at 5am to go fishing and brings in Allcock a cup of tea before heading out.
Allcock says that when she was younger, the main street had 30 shops and 11 pubs, but over the years this has dwindled down to just two shops and two pubs.
"We used to have a billiard hall and a miners' welfare but they pulled it down and built houses on them," she adds. "They knocked everything down and built houses on it."
Read more: One of the UK's oldest women shares secret to long and happy life - Yahoo Life UK, 2-min read
She adds that there used to be a communal garden at the end of their street but that it was turned into a carpark.
Allcock and Raymond do around 25 jigsaw puzzles each year and Allcock often tends to plants in her garden. She only stopped knitting last year due to arthritis.
"There aren't many people who buy a house they were born in," Raymond says. "I moved in with her when my father took ill, I moved in to look after her but she looks after me.
Read more: Champagne's the secret to a long life, says 108-year-old woman - Yahoo Life UK, 3-min read
"She's very independent. She says 'I don't know what all the fuss is about'. She never worked, her mother died when she was 14 and she stayed at home to look after her father who was in his 70s and she cleaned houses for pocket money.
"Our family treats her like a queen."
Watch: 103-year-old War veteran receives 900 birthday cards from strangers following care home appeal
