Model gran is cut above the rest
92-year-old is named longest client at college hairdressing training school
AGLAMOUROUS gran has helped three decades of trainee hairdressers learn their craft by posing as their model. Great-great-grandmother Wilma McCallum, 92, has been named the longest client at the City of Glasgow College’s training school where she attends at least three times a week to keep up her stylish curly look.
Wilma, who lives in Riddrie, was officially celebrated as the college’s longest regular when they marked her 92nd birthday on Friday.
Receiving a cake and birthday wishes from both students and staff, mother-of-four Wilma said: “I love the friendships I have made. I always feel tidy and special when I have had my hair done.”
Wilma worked at the TSB bank in Glasgow’s Croftfoot until her retirement at 60. She was convinced by Bradfords bakers to do their books, and it was while working there she learned about the college’s salon.
Wilma, who eventually retired at 85 after a few previous failed attempts, initially went to the Central College of Commerce’s Charles Oakley building and has remained loyal to the training school ever since.
Her daughter Wendy Malarky, 59, from Stepps, revealed Wilma previously earned the title of Glamourous Grandmother for Scotland in a competition run by holiday firm Butlins.
She said: “She is an absolute diva.
“She is a very generous, loving person and she loves to be loved and getting took care of.
“This is like a community get together for her coming here.
“She has watched everyone grow up because there are people who graduate and move on, and she sees the next generation.
“Everybody knows her by Wilma because she has been coming for so long.”
Granddaughter Julieann McHugh, 40, from Stepps, added: “Gran has always got her hair done and now she has moved onto her nails.”
Christine McDowell, lecturer of Hairdressing and Make-Up Artistry at the City of Glasgow College, said: “Wilma is one of our most loyal and well-loved clients.
“She is such a character and very much part of our college family.
“Our students enjoy her company, and they benefit from the experience of working with someone of her generation. We look forward to many more years of Wilma keeping us on our toes.”