There is a century between them but they are as close as two peas in a pod.
Jen Snodgrass and Maria Mitchell yesterday shared their birthdays – 103 and three – and a special slice of cake each to mark the historic occasion.
Paisley-born Mrs Snodgrass, a great grandmother, was the first resident at the Mandaville Care Home in Inverness when it opened three years ago and recommends its new cook.
Healthy eating appears to be part of her secret to longevity – in fact, she has rarely suffered an illness.
“I just take things as they come,” she said.
Mrs Snodgrass chose to scale things down this year after three birthday parties in 2015.
But friends and relatives converged on the home yesterday afternoon for a single event to mark the double celebration.
Her love of children is a clear source of energy and there was a buzz in the air with Maria, the daughter of a staff member at the home, sharing the celebration.
“I’m thrilled that Maria is here. She brings me good luck,” Mrs Snodgrass said.
“It just happened that her mother Anna said she was born on my birthday. She’s full of life.”
A tailoress for many years, Mrs Snodgrass regularly worked a six and a half day week.
During WWII, she had the added responsibility of night-time firewatch duty and one tragic memory from the era lingers.
“One night, a single bomb killed 29 people, people who were there to help. I thought that was terrible.”
Married during the war, she met her husband Ian while dancing to big band music at the Eglinton Toll Plaza in Glasgow and it was love at first sight.
“The first night, he said he was going to marry me,” Mrs Snodgrass said. “I thought he was kidding, I really did. It was a wee while before I realised he meant it but I couldn’t get away from him.”
Ian, who served with the tank regiment as a last line of defence on the southern England coastline, died at 65.
The couple had a son, Ian, and daughter, Carolyn.
