Cupar pensioner celebrates 100th birthday

Isobel Hirst turned 100 last weekend, and, while celebrations are limited at the moment, a big party is planned when lockdown is lifted.

Isobel was born on June 7, 1920, in Oban. Her father was a dentist and her mother a nurse.

Isobel’s earliest memories included watching the St Kilda boats arriving at the Oban pier when the last residents were evacuated.

She attended Oban High School and Glasgow University, returning to Oban to teach maths and science during the war years. This is when she met and married Kenneth Terry, a pilot, who sadly was killed after only six months of marriage.

In 1947, Isobel was introduced to a young soldier who had been invited into the kitchen by her mother for a ‘bowl of soup and a scone’ – little did she know that the handsome soldier Cecil Hirst would become her future husband.

They married and settled in Cupar where they raised a family. Cecil worked as a quantity surveyor in the County Buildings and pursued his passion for golf. Isobel later returned to teaching in Bell Baxter and Elmwood College.

Sadly, Cecil passed away when he was only 63 years old, however, Isobel has kept busy and fit since with her many hobbies, including voluntary work, gardening, reading, travelling to her hometown of Oban, and visiting family.

Her most recent visit to France to visit her great-grandson Aidan was at the age of 97. She loves traditional music and has enjoyed participating in live music sessions where she played percussion, sang songs, and has made many new friends.

Isobel has maintained remarkable fitness, energy and a great zest for life and for her 100th birthday she has been recording songs from her childhood, including some West Highland lullabies.