As children, Doris Mays and Wilma Scobie became lifelong friends when they stayed in tenements at the bottom of Lochee Road in Dundee city centre.
They returned to see the student flats rising on the site of their former homes, giving them a chance to reflect on bygone days and get a glimpse of the future.
Their visit was arranged by Ocon, which is building the Opal 1 complex at Parker Street, next to Dudhope Park, and had appealed for photographs and information about the area as it used to be.
Doris and Wilma who, 70 years after they met, still attend the nearby St Mary Magdalene Church together responded and they were invited to come along and see the new flats.
Accommodation for almost 500 students, most of whom will attend Abertay University, is being created on the site, which has been empty since the old tenements were demolished about 40 years ago.
Wilma said, “I lived in Littlejohn Street until I was 18 and I actually lived with my grandparents and two uncles so that I could help my grandmother look after the home and do the cooking.
“My parents and my four brothers and sister lived close by in the tenements until we all moved out to Kirkton.”
Many of the residents of the old flats worked in the jute industry.
Doris recalled, “You knew immediately when the mills had shut for the day because the workers would swarm back down the road to the tenements like a huge football crowd.
“It was overcrowded and I would never want to go back to an outside loo again, but the great thing about growing up there was that there was always someone to play with and, with the park nearby, we always had green space to play in.
“I only live 10 minutes away from the area now but I still miss the sense of community we had in the tenements.”
Doris admitted that she was not keen on the look of the flats earlier in their construction, but now that the complex has taken on a more colourful look she approves.
She said, “It gives a whole new perspective to Lochee Road.”
The ladies were given a tour by senior project manager Albertus Mensinga, who said construction is on schedule and prospective students are already booking rooms for the start of term in September.