O A P-unk Pensioners!
January 22, 2011 2 Comments
Ready to wreak havoc?
Fun loving pensioners Jim and Sylvia Boothman celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary in style….by dressing up as the oldest pair of O A P-unk rockers in the land.
Jim, 85, turned up for a family party wearing a wild Mohican wig and a wacky T shirt bearing the slogan Your Princess Is My Slut while Sylvia, 81, followed suit with safety pins hanging from her nose and a studded collar round her neck.
The homely pair looked like something out of The Sex Pistols after daughter Andrea, 52, took them to a fancy dress shop and chose their outfits for the do.
All the other guests, who were in on the ruse, dressed up in punk gear – with grandson Liam, 29, wearing studs and rings in his mouth and nose and the words I Love Nana “tattooed” on his knuckles too!
Retired betting shop clerk Sylvia laughed off the escapade yesterday, and said: “Jim doesn’t look that much like Sid Vicious, but I think our anniversary photos are pretty cool all the same.
“We made the mistake of saying we’d wear whatever outfits Andrea picked not knowing the family were planning a punk rock party for our anniversary all along.
“I wasn’t that keen when I saw all the wild gear coming out at the shop. It’s not the kind of stuff you’d choose to wear at 85 and 81, but we’d given our word to Andrea so we just threw ourselves into it as best we could.
“Jim’s black Mohican didn’t look that bad with his jeans and braces….and I did laugh when I read the message on the front of his T shirt.”
Relaxing at their home in Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Sylvia wasn’t too impressed, however, with her own outfit. “My bright orange and black wig looked like a dead cat, and I wasn’t taken with all the safety pins hanging from the earring in my nose at first.
“I wasn’t that sure about my orange studded collar and all the chains hanging round my neck either – but it turned out to be lot of fun eventually when everybody else appeared looking just as daft as us.”
Fourteen members of the family, including the couple’s two daughters, four married grandchildren, plus their wives, husbands and partners, sprang the surprise during a communal holiday at Weymouth.
Retired telegraph engineer Jim from Doncaster said: “We’ve got to be the oldest pair of punk rockers in the country. The anniversary party was amazing, and it’s thanks to the whole family and their fantastic sense of humour.
“I dread to think what they’ll get up to when our 65th anniversary comes round, but we’ve got a couple of years now to get ready!”
Hospital secretary Andrea said she had no regrets about turning her mum and dad into punk rockers.
Cuttings!
“The whole family knew what was going to happen, but mum and dad didn’t realise till I picked the outfits for them in the shop. There was no going back then because they’d promised to wear whatever I chose.
“I wasn’t worried because I knew they’d enter into the spirit of things once everyone else got dressed up for the party.
“Nobody would have guessed their ages at the do – it was amazing watching them dance to The Sex Pistols and The Stranglers with mum swinging her chains and dad wearing his Mohican and his braces.
“It’ll take some beating when we start making plans for their 65th anniversary.”
Story by Martyn Sharpe
email: shaun@sf-pictures.com
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