At the age of 102 Nora Hardwick posed naked as Miss November for a charity calendar.
"They couldn't get enough ladies for the 12 months… It was very tastefully done. I had a pink tulle scarf to hide the bits and pieces."
Born in November 1905, Mrs Hardwick has devoted her whole life to her local community as postmistress of Ancaster village in Lincolnshire. A member of the parish council for 35 years, she has helped raise enough money to buy playing fields for the local children.
As far as she is concerned, her philanthropic lifestyle has proved life-preserving.
Research has suggested a decrease in mortality figures among those who put others before themselves. The theory is that giving back can provide a sense of purpose and self-worth and result in the "helper's high" - a "physical sensation" resulting from the endorphin release after an act of kindness or generosity.
Some argue that these feelings can reduce stress, promote wellbeing and strengthen the immune system.
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Helper's high
Name: Nora Hardwick
Age: 106
Top tip: Put others first, drink whisky
Now 106, Mrs Hardwick is still putting others first, while enjoying the odd glass of whisky.
But what does the science say about the effect of an alcoholic beverage on life expectancy?
Deaths from liver disease in England reached record levels according to NHS figures in March 2012.
Yet a university study has claimed that drinking tiny amounts of alcohol could possibly increase life expectancy, with the caveat that this anti-ageing experiment was only conducted with worms and not human beings.
One centenarian who did enjoy a martini was comedian and cigar-smoking actor George Burns, who died at the age of 100.
"It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth," he famously joked.
Scientific theories have always tended to concentrate on the physical changes that we can make to our lifestyle in an attempt to avoid age related diseases and prolong life expectancy such as taking regular exercise and eating a balanced, healthy diet, rich in vitamins and minerals.
Some studies have argued that a low calorie diet can increase average life expectancy by as much as 25 years.
At the age of 100 Peggy Hovell is still driving in life's fast lane
With a quarter of all children born today expected to live beyond the age of 100 does science really have all the answers when it comes to the secret to reaching 100?
"The science is slightly baffled by this, we still don't really understand what makes a centenarian because all of them are unique," says Prof Tim Spector, an expert on ageing from Kings College London.
For some centenarians the key to successful ageing is not as tangible as, for instance, eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day
