Great-great grandmother Lily Chaplin celebrated her 103rd birthday yesterday.

Though Mrs Chaplin now finds walking difficult she still lives in her own home in Keynsham, does her own cooking and has a busy social life.

When Mrs Chaplin was born in 1906 King Edward VII was on the throne and Herbert Asquith was prime minister.

The most common mode of transport was the horse and cart.

She was adopted by a couple who lived in Victoria Road - now renamed British Road.

Mrs Chaplin said: "Mother had a grocery shop and when I was 12 I used to help in the shop after school and all day Saturday.

"I earned fourpence a week which I used to save to buy my clothes.

"When I was 14 I left school and went to work at Wills factory in Ashton, packing Woodbine cigarettes."

Nearly everyone smoked at the time but Mrs Chaplin only smoked occasionally.

She married Arthur Sainsbury (no relation to the famous supermarket family) at the age of 25 and together they ran a cooked meat store called Sainsbury's of Cotham on Cotham Hill.

Mrs Sainsbury as she was then, cooked all the meat for the shop.

She carried on running the business after her husband's death in 1950 and worked there until she was 82.

She said: "I loved that business. If I visit Cotham now I still see some of my old customers.

"I've always had to work hard - hard work never killed anybody."

Mrs Chaplin loved to go dancing with her husband and particularly enjoyed the waltz.

She had a daughter, Doreen, who died in 1986, two grandchildren, Susan and Peter, three great grandchildren, Paul, Tracy and Marie and five great, great grandchildren, Evie, Ava, Carly, Cameron and Harry.

In 1952 she married her second husband Harold Chaplin, who died in 1989.

She remembers paying £50 - a lot of money then - for a beautiful wedding gown in Brights of Bristol. She still has the dress.

A party was held for Mrs Chaplin at the Hawthorns Day Centre in Keynsham where she has many friends.

She said: "When I went there they had put the flags out for me and a Pearly King and Queen came to sing all the old songs for us."

She received scores of birthday cards, two cakes and lots of bouquets from friends.

Asked what she has enjoyed most during her long life Mrs Chaplin replied: "Everything."