Leading lady

The staff at Keijuen nursing home in Fukuoka Prefecture whooped and hollered on Monday after hearing that Faust Tillman had finally died, making age-ravaged resident Yone Minagawa the world’s oldest known living person. In fact, barely able to hide their glee at the death of Ms Tillman, nurses hurriedly gave 114-year-old Minagawa-san an over-sized card reading, ‘Congratulations on becoming the world’s number 1’

Staff member Sumako Katsuki kindly found a bit of time during the festivities to divulge that the home’s star resident still enjoys a happy and rewarding existence, as “when she feels good, she ventures to the dining room by motorised wheelchair.”

Asked how it felt to be the world’s oldest person, Minagawa-san is unfortunately said to have been a little confused, wanting to know what day it was and if that lovely young man Bing Crosby would be coming to visit again.