Millennium twins enjoy a low-key lockdown party for 21st birthday
BROTHERS
NEW Year was a double celebration for Leicester’s Millennium twins Cole and Kyle Hood, who joined their family in counting down to their 21st birthdays.
Shortly after 1999 ticked over into the third millennium, Cole and Kyle were born premature, as if desperate to join the party when the world welcomed in the year 2000.
While the Millennium Bug was the big fear of the time of their birth, as they reach their milestone 21st birthday, the party has not quite been what they expected, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Each year they celebrate their birthday the night before each New Year approaches and this year the twins enjoyed a party with their family at their home in Glen Parva on December 31.
Cole – the older of the two by 10 minutes – said: “It was a great night, considering everything that’s going on right now.
“It’s got to the stage with all the lockdowns that you just get used to it.”
Like his twin, Cole has full-time work out of the house, which is helping to keep him sane throughout the coronavirus restrictions.
He and Kyle both went to Brockington College in Enderby before heading to study at Lutterworth College but Cole dropped out three years ago to take a job at McDonald’s in Fosse Park.
He said he dreamed of being able to go out with his friends again but felt lucky to have a job.
“As long as I’ve got work, I’m not losing my mind!”
Being identical twins, the brothers share a strong bond. Cole said: “It’s weird but things happen to the other one and you’ll get a feeling about it.
“When we were kids, Kyle, who was somewhere else in the school building, cut his head open and I could tell something was wrong and had to go and investigate.”
On being the elder brother, he added: “Sometimes I do feel like it – I’ll have to say to him, ‘I’m older than you, okay? Don’t forget it’!”
Kyle is also able to get out the house to go to work during the pandemic. He said: “I work at a flooring company in Wigston so that’s been able to stay open through all the lockdowns and everything.
“If it weren’t for coronavirus we probably would have celebrated turning 21 differently – a big party with friends or a pub crawl or something. 21ST BASH FOR
We probably would have celebrated turning 21 differently - a big party or pub crawl
“We don’t see our friends as much as we want to and I really miss just being able to go out and meet up with people and be out without a mask on.
“It’s quite an experience and being so young it’s something that makes you appreciate how good it was to be able to do all the things we could do before. We’ll certainly remember it.”
As usual, the birthday party featured a big countdown to midnight, with the twins’ mum, Mel, her partner Paul, and their brothers Reece, 25, and Blayne, 18. Kyle said: “It was brilliant, really. Lots of drinking and with everything that’s going on it felt even more poignant. “Hopefully the pubs will be open again soon and we can go out with our friends and celebrate it all again.”
Kyle Hood