THE FUNERAL of the oldest woman in Slovakia, Anna Balášová of Vrbové (in the Trnava Region) was held on Friday, March 1. She passed away on February 26, aged 108, the TASR newswire learned from Vrbové Municipal Office culture official Ľubomír Bosák.

“She never mentioned a recipe for longevity, but she loved candy and chocolate very much. Her health took a turn for the worse eight years ago when this very taste for sweets caused her an injury. She had a sweet craving late at night and snuck up to the Christmas tree to secretly enjoy some of the goodies hanging from it, and fell in the process,” Bosák explained. He added the Smrečany native married three times and had eight children. In the picture, Anna Balášová is celebrating her centenary.