SOMEDAYS she thinks it is marvellous, other days she just forgets about it but to the world outside, Rosetta Alford's 100 years of life, in three different centuries, is remarkable.

Born on February 23, 1899, Okehampton resident Mrs Alford is just a month away from her 101st birthday and she still remembers her childhood like it was yesterday.

She remembers the first car in Okehampton, the family Christmases in Okehampton with her six brothers and sisters and the dances in the Market Hall where she was 'never short of partners.'

Mrs Alford, who is a former nurse, said on the whole she had had a happy life but had seen much poverty.

The problem with life today she said was that people were 'too pampered and expected everything on a plate.'

The great grandmother said the changes she had noticed most about Okehampton was its growth in development terms and the amount of cars on the road.

When she was growing up horses, carriages and tandems were the only mode of transport.

'The doctor used to go out on call on horseback and I remember how strange it was seeing the first car in Okehampton,' she said.

In the trustworthy age of her younger years, Mrs Alford said she never locked the door when she went out — and she never worried about her daughter not being safe.

'She always came in at the time I told her to but the world was a much safer place then,' she said.

Okehampton's oldest resident, who has recently moved into Kent House Residential Home, delights the staff with her stories and her sharpness.

Care assistant Beverley Hudson said: 'The other day I was moaning I was tired and Mrs Alford asked how old I was.

'I told her I was 33 and she said 'how do you think I feel I'm nearly 101.'

Owner of the home Anne Howe said: 'Mrs Alford, I believe, is as sharp now as she ever was.

'She has lovely stories to tell and she is always up and about exercising.

'When we have entertainers in she is always the one singing her head off. It is lovely to see.'

Despite approaches from people interested in documenting her memories in a book, the centenarian said: 'As long as I can sit here and tell people about them I do not see any reason for a book to be written.'

Having lived in three centuries is something Mrs Alford takes in her stride.

'I have outlived all my brothers and sisters and sometimes when I think about it to have lived this long is marvellous, ' she said. 'Other days I forget just like everybody else does.'

She did not stay up for the new Millennium but the residents of Kent House all had a tipple of sherry at lunchtime to celebrate.

'I am more partial to a shandy myself,' she added.