Still joking after all these years

PATRICK HAMILTON/Nelson Mail

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Wally Blue (left) with his twin brother, Doug, celebrate turning 90 at the Ernest Rutherford Retirement Village.

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There was double trouble at the Ernest Rutherford Retirement Village in Stoke on Tuesday as some sprightly twins celebrated a special milestone.

Wally and Doug Blue cele-brated their 90th birthday in the company of their respective wives, Vonda and Mabel, and other family and their friends.

Doug is currently living at Ernest Rutherford, while Wally and Vonda will be moving into a unit in the coming months.

Stories flowed thick and fast about the twins, who are not identical, but still proved a handful for their parents when born in 1919.

The Blue brood comprised five boys aged under three years.

Four of Doug and Mabel's five children attended the party, as did Wally and Vonda's daughter Jenny.

Doug's son, Barry Blue, said it was a special time for the family.

"It's nice that we're all still here for this."

Doug was presented with a cake emblazoned with the words "yours in crime".

Far from being Doug's chosen career path, Barry said the phrase "yours in crime, honest Doug" was his signature sign-off when sending out bills from his Brightwater garage.

Barry said Wally seemed to enjoy having a brother who had a steady supply of fuel.

"They always used to get oil off us, I'm sure they never paid for it," he laughed.

Jenny Blue said her father was, and still is, a keen recreational fisherman. "He fished for trout from the age of 10," Ms Blue said.

"We're still taking him fishing down the Buller River.

"He's still telling us how to chase the fish."

She said Doug and Wally had enjoyed spending time in the outdoors together, including going for swims around Haulashore Island.

- © Fairfax NZ News