A FORMER pub owner celebrated her 100th birthday – by having the first alcoholic drink of her life.
Annie Mackie, who lived through two World Wars and has outlived three of her four children and both husbands, raised a glass of sherry after a century of staying sober.
The great-great-grandmother from Banchory, Aberdeenshire, spent almost four decades running the Garlogie Bar, and was even visited there by Coronation legend Doris Speed who played Rovers Return owner Annie Walker.
But Annie “never touched a drop” after her first husband turned into an alcoholic.
Despite the long-anticipated wait, Annie said she “didn’t like the sherry very much” and only had a tiny sip.
More than 110 people attended her party, held at the Burnett Arms Hotel, Banchory, where every one of her surviving children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren turned up.
Annie puts her health down to her “good genes” – her mother lived to 95, her grandmother to 100 and her great-grandmother also lived longer than a century.
Throughout her life she had four children – Vic, Robbie, Jim and Anne – three of whom went on to become Scottish motorcycle legends.
Her youngest and only surviving son, 69-year-old Vic Allan, says he is “extremely proud” of his mother, and that reaching the age of 100 is a “massive achievement” for her.
Annie was born in 1915 and grew up on a farm in Drumoak, north Deeside. She married Robert Allan in 1935, with whom she ran the bar and had four children.
Sadly Robert, who was a “heavy drinker”, passed away in 1952 due to liver complications, and she ran the pub on her own until she met and married Peter Mackie in the late 1960s.
She had several happy years with “good guy” Peter, until he peacefully died at home aged 83.
Over the years Annie’s family has expanded, and now she boasts ten grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and 8 great-great-grandchildren.
She has never lived more than ten miles from her birthplace, and four years ago moved to Dalvenie Gardens – a nearby care home where a second birthday party was also held.
Speaking about the celebrations, Annie said: “It was splendid and all of my family turned up – all five generations of us were there.
“I was given 132 cards, which was too many to put up in my room. I’ve got so many flowers it’s like a forrest.
“I tried a bit of sherry but it wasn’t very nice.”
Her son, Vic, said: “My mum is in great health for her age.
She has a zimmer frame but she flies around on it.
“Everyone made a great effort to surprise her at her party, she has so many family members and every one of them came.
“It was the first time she’s ever had alcohol. Her first husband, my father, was a heavy drinker and I think that had something to do with it.
“We’re all extremely proud of her, turning 100 is a great achievement.”
Vic himself holds four British motocross champion titles, and now runs his own training centre near London.
Despite planning to celebrate his 70th birthday later this year, he recently managed to break his thigh bone by doing a wheelie on a motorbike.
His brother Robbie, who passed away in 2013 aged 72, organised the first world motocross event in Scotland and also became President of the Scottish Auto Cycle Union.
Vic said: “She was a very supportive mother growing up. Myself and my two brothers were very much into motorcycling and she always tried her best to come and watch us.
“She thought it was ‘just a fad’ but we never grew out of it – it became an obsession. She took us to our first motorcycle shop so we can thank her for that.”
