My ticker's been going 105 years.. thanks to Countdown

Published on Saturday 10 May 2008 11:18

A LOVE of crosswords and the TV quiz Countdown have helped Chrissie Brown reach the grand old age of 105.

The great-grandmother – who remembers hearing about the sinking of the Titanic – still lives in her own home, where she celebrated her birthday on Friday.

She worked as a cleaner until the age of 70, cycling to work and back each day, and would look after her baby great-granddaughter when she was 90.

Mrs Brown, of Macmerry, East Lothian, said today: "I haven't a clue how I've managed it. Must be the country air."

Her long life is all the more remarkable since her early years were hit by sickness and tragedy.

One brother and sister died young from tuberculosis, and she nursed her dying mother and another sister when she was just 18.

After her mother died from pernicious anaemia – a disease Mrs Brown would later overcome – she began caring for her father.

But if life appeared to have dealt her a tough hand, she never let it show. Her younger daughter Margaret, 71, who lives in St Helen's, said:

"She was a wonderful mother. She never, ever lost her temper with us. I've never heard her swear, never heard her argue."

Mrs Brown remains sharp as a tack, whether chatting about modern life or the Titanic disaster.

She said: "I was almost nine when the Titanic sank. Back then there were no television or radio news so I found out in the paper.

"You had to read a paper to know what was happening outside of where you lived

"When I read the story I just couldn't believe it. It was such a shame."

She was born at Duns Castle in the Borders, one of five siblings, and lived there until she was five.

She said: "Father was a gamekeeper at the castle and we lived there. It was an important job he had making sure that no one was poaching from the Hay family's estate. I remember being sad when we had leave because I liked it there."

She married husband George in 1933 and moved to Huntingdon in East Lothian, where Mr Brown got a job as a gardener.

With the outbreak of World War Two, she became one of the Land Girls in the Women's Land Army. She said: "We all had to do our bit in the war effort or Hitler would win."

Mrs Brown celebrated her birthday with her daughters, four grand-daughters, five great grand-daughters and one great grandson.

She said: "I'll have a glass of pineapple juice. I've never smoked or drank in my life and hardly ever saw the doctor, that's why I'm still here.

"I'll do my crossword because I've been doing them since 1920 and I'm still as sharp as tack. It's only my hearing that's gone."