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Stockport twins share the secret to a long life as they celebrate their 103rd birthday

Elma and Thelma were born in Cheadle Heath on 3 August 1919, and are celebrating a milestone not many reach.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 4th August 2022

A pair of Stockport sisters who are believed to be the UK’s oldest twins have shared their secret to a long life on their 103rd birthday.

Elma and Thelma are celebrating a milestone not many people achieve.

Born in Cheadle Heath on 3 August 1919, with Elma arriving around 30 minutes before her sister, the twins are marking their 103rd year of life and looking back on their humble beginnings, which stared with attending Alexandra Park School, before starting working as packers and labellers at Smiths Crisps at the age of 14, and eventually getting married, settling down, and starting families.

Elma married joiner Bill Hewitt, and Thelma married hatter Joseph Barratt, just as the war started, and they both went on to have two children and welcome many grandchildren.

Elma lives in and calls Stockport her home, but as Thelma now lives in Kirkham in Lancashire, the twins say they don’t get to spend as much time together as they used to, but they told the MEN that they still make sure to speak on the phone at least once a week.

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They mostly like to catch up and find out “who has had a baby, who has done what, and who hasn’t”, and when they do get together, they still like to enjoy trips to the seaside and days out.

The centenarians were reunited for a surprise 103rd birthday celebration with their families this week, which Elma told BBC North West she “didn’t expect” and was “so wonderful”, while Thelma added that is was “lovely”.

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“Especially because we don’t get together very often,” she added.

Read more: A new photo exhibition documenting life in 1970s Stockport has now opened

Thelma’s son Tony said it was even more special to be able to bring the pair together this year as the COVID-19 pandemic had understandably kept them apart for recent their birthdays.

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The fun-loving pair are admittedly still pretty relaxed about turning another year older though, as when asked if they are looking forward to their birthday, Thelma said “it’s just another day”.

Elma and Thelma were born in Cheadle Heath in Stockport on 3 August 1919 / Credit: Family handout (via BBCNWT)

But what exactly is their key to living a long life then?

Read more: UK’s oldest man says key to a long life is a chippy tea every week

Well, according to Thelma, she joked that her longevity must be down to her love of food, while Elma said she “likes a drink” and opts for a brandy and lemonade – but insisted it must always be served in a brandy glass without ice.

And most importantly, Elma says we must “keep smiling – don’t worry”.

Featured Image – BBCNWT

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Met Office launches nationwide search for new storm names and wants YOU to pick

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Thunderstorm sky

Is your grandma a force of nature? Does your best friend cause an impact wherever they go? Now you can give them the recognition they deserve…

By naming a storm after them, of course.

We know all the talk is about heatwaves at the moment, especially after weather forecasters have recently predicted that the UK is in for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year, but let’s turn our eye to the upcoming storm season for a second, shall we?

That’s right – the Met Office is inviting the public to submit their suggestions for storm names for the upcoming 2025/26 season.

Now in its eleventh year, the Met Office works with Met Éireann in Ireland and KNMI in the Netherlands to compile the list every time the season rolls around, and this headline-grabbing naming initiative helps the media and the public communicate about the impacts of severe weather events more easily and effectively.

As part of the naming process, each of the three meteorological organisations will get to name storms using selected letters, with the aim being to reflect the diversity of the three countries, and in-keeping with usual storm naming conventions, names will be picked for every letter of the alphabet except for Q, U, X, Y and Z.

According to the Met Office, a number of factors are considered for a name to be on the list – including how difficult it might be to pronounce, if the name has different meanings in different countries, and if it could be considered controversial in some way.

Once the list of names is decided upon, it will be formally announced by the Met Office in September when storm season begins.

Man walking in rain
The Met Office has launched a nationwide search for new storm names and wants you to pick / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

“The storm naming system has helped us communicate weather to help people stay safe,” commented Will Lang, who is the Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, “and wow we need the UK public to help us compile a new list.

“Whether you want to honour a weather-lover in your family, remember a family pet, or get a friend’s name in the headlines, we welcome submissions from the public to help us pull together next year’s list of storm names.”

People can only submit their names online via the submissions page here, where there’s also the option of adding a reason for the suggestion, and must not be submitted via social media as they will not be counted.

Read more:

You have until 3 July 2025 to make your submissions, and the new list will be revealed in early September.

Featured Image – Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)

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First Look: Fitzpatrick’s – Stockport’s new Irish Bar gets off to a stunning start

Danny Jones Danny Jones Fitzpatrick's new Irish bar and grill opening Stockport

Stockport has a brand new Irish bar as the growing Greater Manchester trend continues, with Fitzpatrick’s officially debuting to the public on Thursday, 19 June.

Taking over the former Bask site just outside the train station, Fitzpatrick’s is the borough’s answer to American sports bar meets an Irish pub and grill, with live music, a wide array of food and more.

Founded by the man who now shares his name with the already lively boozer, John Fitzpatrick – a.k.a. local producer, musician and DJ, Jon Fitz – the venue has big shoes to fill following its predecessor, but is already off to a very strong start.

We had the privilege of walking in on opening day, and the place was absolutely packed to the rafters from the off, and we didn’t even stay until the end. More fool us…

As you can see, it hasn’t taken them any time at all to get an atmosphere going; good weather on their inaugural day, but the free-flowing beer, classic pub food flying out of the kitchen, and musicians reeling off classic Irish folk music did most of the heavy lifting.

Plus, that beer garden and covered outdoor terrace area are pretty perfect in any weather, to be fair.

The scran on their maiden evening mainly consisted of pizza, chips and other easy-to-serve-up plates as they gradually ease into the first week or so of service, but with a full menu of burgers, pies, breakfasts and even Sunday roasts to come, we’re very excited to try the full gamut.

Regardless, the staff were pulling pints like pros, John himself had plenty of involvement greeting people and getting behind the bar, and the atmosphere was buzzing from minute one.

ln fact, that was arguably the best part about it all: there was that genuine feeling of a new community cornerstone being born, with the well-known Stopfordian reeling off names and recognising what seemed like almost every face that walked through the door.

You don’t get that everywhere.

A lay of the land at Fitzpatrick’s Stockport. (Credit: The Manc Eats)

Although this was their first proper day of trading, they had already gauged the kind of crowds they could expect by soft launching with friends and family last week.

That being said, as mentioned, there was a real tight-knit, community feel to the place, full of County kits, young families and older couples alike, all of whom seemed to be dovetailing together as if the pub had always been around.

SK is often dubbed one of those places where everyone kind of knows everyone, even despite how big the town is as a whole, and this definitely felt like proof of that perception.

There was even close-up magic from Stockport’s famous ‘Fingerless Magician’, Dean Lahan, who famously featured on Britain’s Got Talent and even featured for Team GB’s Para Ice Hockey squad.

Of course, there is some familiarity with the space having previously been Bask, but the location of the stage, a newly decked out bar and the large jumbo-tron style TV set-up for live sport in the centre of the room (providing prime viewing from virtually all angles) have made a big difference.

Based solely on the hordes of people that piled into the place the second the doors opened, we can’t wait to see what the gaff is like once it’s in so-called ‘full swing’. John and his team might just be on to something big here.

Speaking to The Manc, he said: “As a local lad, I wanted to put something into the space that reflects a lot of my history and culture. Music, food, sport and a great atmosphere are all things I love, so I wanted to reflect that in this gorgeous space.”

Open 4-11 from Tuesday to Thursday, 2pm until late on Fridays, and the same only from 1pm at weekends, we can imagine Stockport punters are about to be spending a lot of time in Fitzpatrick’s.

(Credit: The Manc Group)

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Featured Images – The Manc Group

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