A 107-year-old great-great grandmother who lived in Willesden for two decades gave up smoking just FIVE years ago because “she wanted to live a long life”.
Muriel Froomberg, who now lives in St John’s Wood, puffed away at cigarettes all her adult life until she kicked the habit aged 102.
However she still has 800 cigarettes stashed away in her cabinet and when her daughter-in-law Barbara Froomberg, 81, asked her to throw them away, she said: “No, you never know when I might need them.”
Born in London to a Jewish family in 1909, Mrs Froomberg is known as “Mumu” to her three children, five grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
She was evacuated during World War Two to Northamptonshire for five years and returned to Brent with her late husband Archie and their three sons where they lived for two decades
Fresh from a manicure and a trip to the hairdressers, she enjoyed a slice of birthday cake at her home before enjoying a special lunch with her family at the Ritz the following day.
Mrs Froomberg, a widow who has lived in her flat since 1967, said: “I had a lovely day. I have rather a big family.”
Still sprightly, Mrs Froomberg is wheelchair dependent due to mobility issues associated with her age.
However she has no other health conditions and enjoys a daily spin in her wheelchair around Regent’s Park to see the squirrels with her carer Eva Dziedic.
Ms Dziedic revealed the secret to Mrs Froomberg’s long and healthy life is a bottle of whiskey per week, taken as a twice-daily tipple mixed with ginger ale.
She has no snacks between meals and a sweet daily treat of a tiny block of chocolate.
Mrs Froomberg also insists on enjoying chicken soup and asparagus at every meal.
She is also partial to a Viennese schnitzel and a juicy steak.
Her daughter-in-law called her unbelievable, adding: There’s absolutely nothing wrong with her.”
Looking at her array of eight birthday cards sent from The Queen since she became a centenarian, Mrs Froomberg said: “She looks like a very nice person.”
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