Times have changed a great deal since then, but some things, however, remain the same. For half a century, every second Wednesday evening, this gathering still takes place as the ladies concerned, Nan Hogg, Moyra Shankie, May Peffers, Margaret Dalgleish and Betty Fox get together and sort out the world in their own majestic way.

It's now an 'aye been' occasion and the Hawick News received a special invitation to attend one of these "supper nights" recently.
And the News duly shared a trip down memory lane, a barrowload of laughs and the occasional senior moment.

Nan sparked the evening off by telling us: "We all got married round about the same time and had a lot in common so we decided to have a supper night for a blether.
"Our very first one was in Dovemount Place which was my first home after getting married to my husband George.
"It must have been a good night because we decided to do the same thing every fortnight, visiting each other's houses. Never for a minute did we imagine we would be doing the same thing 52 years later.

"For many years it was a proper sit down meal, with plenty to eat and plenty cups of tea.
Nowadays it's a lot different as we don't eat nearly as much and it's a case of half a salmon roll and a wee vodka."

The main theme of the conversation was glancing back to times gone by, a topic that is regularly brought up by the supper ladies and one that is always enjoyed.

Reflecting on this, Moyra said: "We like looking back on the old days. Things were a lot different then and I think people were a lot happier, even though nobody had much.

"All of us worked in the mills and although everybody got on with their work, there was always plenty of laughs.
"The mills also had dances, or balls, for their workers. These times are now gone though, and so, unfortunately, are most of the mills."
Hawick itself is very much part of Nan's, Moyra's, May's, Margaret's and Betty's lives, as the fivesome have always stayed in the grey auld toon.

Speaking of this, May said: "We were all brought up in Hawick, worked in Hawick, met our husbands in Hawick and brought up our own families in Hawick.

"There has been a lot of changes in the town, as we once had three picture houses, and there was plenty of places to go dancing when we were young, such as the Palais, St James, the Drill Hall and the Crown Hotel, and we often look back on these times.

"The Common-Riding was a lot different then as well. The women got the bus up the 'Mair' and the men pushed the prams up.
"It wasn't the big picnic it is now, as few people had cars then, but everyone still had a great time."

The 52-year friends have had a total of 11 children between them, with grandchildren and great grandchildren having blossomed from this.
Family life has been a major factor and it has been a big talking point on the Wednesday evening as the years have rolled in.

Summing up everyone's thoughts, Margaret said: "Our families are all about the same age and they grew up knowing each other well and this has been nice.

"We've had our troubles, but being close friends like we are, these troubles have been shared and that means a lot. During the many supper nights we've had together, I can honestly say we have never had a cross word and I think that is wonderful."

Relating back on the countless hours they have spent chatting on a wide variety of matters, Betty added: "In the early days we would take along our knitting, speak about what we had done at the weekend, what we would be doing the coming weekend and catch up with the latest gossip.
"It's a bit different now, although we still catch up with the gossip, we mainly talk about what medication we're on! We still love getting together for a blether though, and long may this continue."

Joker of the pack Moyra added with a smile: "We have our senior moments now and again, and so we might not even remember the Hawick News has even been to see us after you go away!"

Looking after Hawick's answer to the "Golden Girls" for the evening in being host, was Nan's husband George, who summed everything up with this message: "Make new friends, but keep the old. New friends are silver, but old friends are gold."