Friends from Halifax recreate holiday photo 50 years later

More than half a century later, and friendships still very much intact, it was Susan’s idea to mock up a 2024 version of the photograph, although the initial reaction from the rest of the group was one of incredulity.

“I passed a photocopy of the photo round when we were out for a meal and said ‘Right girls, how do you fancy recreating that?” Susan says.

“Well, they dropped their knives and their forks! But they came round and loved it in the end.”

The task of posing in the same place wasn’t without its difficulties, however.

For one thing, the white hotel in the background of the original photo had been demolished, leading to some confusion over where exactly on the promenade the four had stood.

Then there was the fashion issue and the job of reinventing their 1970s clothes, which were mainly bought from Chelsea Girl – a popular store at the time.

Raiding charity shops and online second-hand clothes retailers, the four managed to obtain some authentic outfits, albeit not all of them quite fitted.

“I’d bought my dress online and it took two of them to zip me up into it,” Mary laughs.

“It was a bit tight!

“But once we got out there on the promenade it was nice. There were people watching what we were doing and it was a good laugh!”