Real lives: Hannah marks 103rd birthday with music, singing and sherry

Published on Saturday 6 December 2008 10:02

Hannah MacKinnon has celebrated her 103rd birthday with friends and family at the St Anne's Care Home in Musselburgh.

Mrs MacKinnon was born in Ballachulish on December 4, 1905 to Hannah and Dugald Gillies, and was the second eldest of four children.

A mother-of-one, she spent most of her childhood in Torrance, a small village outside Glasgow.

She met her husband Donald MacKinnon at a party of a family friend in Torrance. The couple married in Glasgow seven years later in 1930.

"In these days they waited until they could afford to furnish a house before they got married," said daughter, Una Starkey, 73.

The couple lived in Kilsyth from 1931 before moving to Edinburgh around 1953.

Mr MacKinnon started working as an advisor for the National Coal Board shortly after they married – a position he retained until his retiral in 1965.

Mrs MacKinnon's only job after leaving Torrance School was as a telephonist in the general post office at George Square in Glasgow, where she worked for ten years, before becoming a full-time mum.

She passed her civil service exams at the former Skerry's College in Glasgow before starting her job.

Mr MacKinnon died in 1969, aged 69, after suffering an aneurysm in his aorta.

Mrs MacKinnon stayed at the couple's home in Saughton Mains Gardens until 2004, when she moved into the care home.

She has two grandchildren, Fiona, 47, and Kirsteen, 43, and four great-grandchildren – Catriona, 26, Rosalind, 15, Joshua, ten, and Harry, three.

Mrs Starkey added: "An accordionist came to the care home on Thursday and played Scottish music, and they all joined in. They had a sherry and the chef had made her a birthday cake.

"They were all extremely lively, I don't know if it was the sherry or the music. Some of the residents even sang solos which was quite funny.

"My mum sang along the whole time but she wasn't going to do a solo piece.

"Joshua is hoping that she'll live long enough to get into the Guinness Book of Records, which is one of his favourite books."

Mrs Starkey believes the secret of her mother's longevity is down to her "sharp mind".

"She's basically very healthy but has always had a very sharp mind," said Mrs Starkey.

"She's always been an avid reader and I think that's really kept her mind active. She still listens to music – classical and Scottish."

She added: "When she was cooking for herself she always enjoyed a whisky every night before her meal.

"She's quite sprightly, she has a laugh with the care workers."