Twins celebrate birthday apart

Twin sisters from Hull are having to celebrate their 80th birthdays apart because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Audrey Kirkby and Dorothy Dalby, originally from Marfleet Lane, in east Hull, would usually spend some time together on or around their shared January 28 birthday.

But this year, Audrey, who still lives in Hull, and Dorothy, who has lived in north Cave for many years, will have to rely on a phone call for contact.

Audrey’s daughter, Debra Barriskell, said: “i think it’s fabulous that Mum and Auntie Dorothy have reached this age and are both totally fit and healthy, they both still drive and they have both just had their first Covid-19 vaccination.

“My mum’s a bit of a silver surfer, but Auntie Dorothy doesn’t have wi-fi so they can’t even have a video call on their birthday.

“They wouldn’t necessarily spend their birthday together, with their own family things going on, but Mum would have gone to see Auntie Dorothy the day before, for example.

“it will be the first time they won’t have seen each other on or around the day, so i thought it might be a nice surprise if they saw something about themselves in the Hull Daily Mail.”

The twins, who are not identical, were born Harrison on January 28, 1941.

They have an older sister, Margaret, who is 82, who lives in north Yorkshire, and who gave birth to twins in 1962.

“nanna used to take them into the air-raid shelter in their handmade siren suits,” said Debra who herself has five-year-old twins.

“i think to myself, if nanna could get through the war, i can get through this home-schooling.”

The Harrison girls attended Flinton Grove Primary and Maybury Road Schools, with Audrey later becoming a nurse and Dorothy running a smallholding, raising piglets and calves.

The twins both had a daughter and son and each have a number of grandchildren.

“My mum’s in our bubble, so she is coming for the afternoon on her birthday,” said Debra, who lives in Hornsea.