she remained in robust health into extreme old age and achieved public recognition for her longevity, including tea with then-uk prime minister margaret thatcher, in 1985, whom she jokingly admonished against cuddling up to her, as hughes was a labour party supporter. thatcher replied by saying "oh well, never mind, let's have a cup of tea." however, hughes admitted to personally liking thatcher, and described the prime minister as "a very nice woman." for her one-hundred and tenth birthday, she flew on concorde to new york city, one of only two supercentenarian air passengers ever recorded. she stayed at the waldorf-astoria hotel for four days on an all-expenses paid visit and met then-mayor ed koch.