Twins celebrate moving in together on 90th birthdays
TWIN sisters have celebrated their 90th birthdays by moving in together for the first time in 70 years.
Siblings Pauline Vincent and Jacqueline Hetherington marked their big day – by moving into a shared flat.
It means the “inseparable” twins are living together for the first time since their 20s.
Their family say the sisters woke up together and celebrated their milestone birthday with brunch and champagne in their new abode.
Pauline and Jacqueline have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
They had previously been living in separate flats in the same sheltered accommodation in Ashburton, Devon before deciding to be roommates.
Jacqueline lived upstairs and Pauline was downstairs in the same building – now Jacqueline has moved downstairs into Pauline’s flat.
Jacqueline’s daughter, Jaine Swift, 52, said the whole family quickly agreed that “the best thing was for them to be together.”
She added: “They have such a close relationship and neither of them wanted to be alone – we realised it was a no-brainer.
“Ordinarily we would have had a party to celebrate their big birthday, but this was a present for them because they get to be together. It was a bit of an emotional day – but it was such a lovely moment for us all, with all the chaos going on in the world right now.”
The sisters, who were born in Halifax, west Yorkshire, in 1931, came to Devon in the 1960s, with Pauline working as a secretary and Jacqueline raising a family.
Despite leading very different lives, they maintained a close relationship – but hadn’t lived together since they were 27, when Jacqueline moved in with her late husband Eric Hetherington.
While Pauline was dedicated to her work and had no children with her late husband Alan Vince, Jacqueline and Eric raised four children – Ian now 58, Andrew, now 56, Jaine, now 52, and Paul, now 50.
Jaine said all of her siblings live locally and made a special effort to celebrate the day.
They have such a close relationship and neither of them wanted to be alone JAINE SWIFT
She explained: “We all managed to separately see them on their birthday because we all had a role in helping them move in, which was the best alternative to a birthday party.
“We made them a birthday breakfast of smoked salmon and eggs, with champagne. It was a lovely day for them and for us.”