Twins Betty King and Peggy Biddlecombe, who turned 80 last Friday, say their active family keep them in good health.
Ms King, from Claremont, and Ms Biddlecombe, of Huis Luckhoff in Rosebank, grew up in Southfield.
They were the middle siblings of Dorothy and Michael Douglas-Henry’s four children.
They originally attended Holy Cross Primary School in Maitland but there parents later sent them Durbanville Primary boarding school to learn more Afrikaans.
“We were sharing a room with two Afrikaans girls in the hostel, so what did we speak? English all the time,” said Ms King.
As teens, they enjoyed going to weekend dances and once a month they would dance at a place called the Snake Pit in Muizenberg. More than 30 youngsters at a time would take to the wooden dance floor on hot summer evenings.
“We would go out separately at times and then would end up buying the same dress,” says Ms Biddlecombe.
As they were identical in looks, they would play games with their dates, pretending to be the other sister and only telling the hapless young man at the end of the date that they he had been out with the wrong girl.
Ms King’s daughter-in-law, Elizabeth King, who is married to her son, Andrew, also celebrated her birthday on the same day as did their housekeeper, Lynette Bridgens.
More than 50 guests were at the twins’ party in Pinelands on Sunday.
Ms Biddlecombe also threw a party for her friends at Huis Luckhoff.
The two sisters each have eight grandchildren; they both still drive; and both enjoy knitting while Ms Biddlecombe enjoys playing the piano and doing gardening at the seniors’ home.