A good friend can tell you the best stories, but your best friend has experienced them all with you. Kathleen Saville and Olive Woodward, both 89, redefined the term “best friends” when they decided to move into the same nursing care home in England. They’ve been best friends since they were 11 years old. Saville and Woodward’s bond is stronger than ever, strengthened by 78 years of companionship and love.
Kathleen and Olive have always lived at least 10 minutes apart since they became best friends. Both of these real-life golden girls grew up in the same neighborhood, attended the same school, and married coal miners. Now that they are in their eighties, they have decided to spend the next chapter of their lives together, as they have always done. Kathleen was the first resident to arrive at Berry Hill Park Care Home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Olive quickly followed her best friend…
“If I’m unhappy or in trouble, all I have to do is go to Kathleen, and we’ll always end up laughing,” Woodward told the BBC. The 89-year-old moved in six weeks ago and says seeing her best friends “all day, every day” has helped her. What is the source of Kathleen and Olive’s unwavering friendship? Kathleen claims that the two never fight. “When we met, we knew we’d always be best friends. “She means a lot to me,” said Saville.
She even claims that their friendship will last beyond their time on Earth. Kathleen declared, “If Olive goes first, she’ll come back to get me.” “In heaven, we’ll be best friends.” Kathleen and Olive have a nickname despite only being in the care home for less than two months. Most of the facility’s staff and residents refer to them as the “dynamic duo,” and with reason.
The pair will occasionally have a good time as they ‘play around.’ “We don’t cause any trouble in the home, but we do have to knock the staff into shape from time to time,” Saville explained. Kathleen once raced one of the managers down the hallway for a laugh. “They never stop chatting and giggling,” manager Sally Tebbett told the BBC, adding that the two are endearing and it’s clear they adore each other.
Tebbett sees the two moving into the same nursing home as a “special moment.” Olive, like any other inseparable best friend, says that being so close to Kathleen has always been a source of comfort. What is their advice to anyone who wants what they have? “Get yourself out of here and go see your friend,” Saville advised. “Don’t always expect them to come see you.” And, as the dynamic duo of Berry Hill Park care home once said, “it takes two to tango.”