A good friend can tell you the best stories, but your best friend has lived through all of them with you. 89-year-olds Kathleen Saville and Olive Woodward put a new meaning to the word ‘best friends’ when they decided to move into the same nursing care home in England.
The two have been each other’s best friends ever since they were 11. The bond between Saville and Woodward is stronger than ever, fortified with 78 years of companionship and love.
Ever since they become best friends, Kathleen and Olive always lived at least 10 minutes away from each other.
These real-life golden girls both lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same school, and both married coal miners. Now that their 80s are coming to an end, they decided to spend the next chapter of their life like they have always known—together.
Kathleen was the first one to move into Berry Hill Park Care Home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Olive followed her best pal not long after.
“If I’m unhappy or in trouble I only have to go to Kathleen and we’ll always end up laughing,” Woodward said in an interview with BBC.
The 89-year-old has just moved in six weeks ago and tells how seeing her best friends “all day, every day” affected her positively.
What’s the secret behind Kathleen and Olive’s unyielding friendship? Kathleen says that duo never fight. “We knew we would always be best friend when we met. She means a lot to me,” Saville said. She even says that their friendship will remain even after their time on Earth ends.
“If Olive goes first, she’ll come back to fetch me,” Kathleen declared. “We’re going to be best friends in heaven.”
Even though Kathleen and Olive has only been in the care home for less than 2 months, they already have a nickname. Most of the staff in the facility and their fellow occupants call them the “dynamic duo.”—and rightfully so.
Sometimes, the pair will have their share of fun as they ‘play around.’
“We don’t cause any trouble in the home, but we sometimes have to knock the staff into shape,” Saville said. One time, Kathleen raced one of the managers down the hallway for a laugh.
“They never stop chatting and giggling,” manager Sally Tebbett told the BBC, saying that the two are so endearing and you can see how they love each other.
Tebbett considers the two moving into the same care home was a “special moment.” Just like any other inseparable best friends, Olive says that it has always been a comfort being so close to Kathleen.
Their advice to anyone who wants the same thing they have? “Put yourself out and go see your friend,” Saville said. “Don’t always wait for them to come and see you.” And in the wise words of the Berry Hill Park care home’s dynamic duo: “It takes two to tango.”
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