DECADES of friendship and love were celebrated over afternoon tea yesterday, as Ballarat residents Vida Mills and Min Cody celebrated milestone birthdays. At 101 years old, Vida said she and Min, 99, worked alongside each other at a local pickle factory and had remained friends ever since. Raising children and seeing Ballarat develop into the city we know today, they continue to lead active and busy lives and keep in close contact. Mrs Cody’s daughter Bonnie Simpson said the pair were the best of friends. “Both of their memories are brilliant, and there has been a lot of reminiscing about the years that have passed.“Mum still goes to bingo every Thursday and reads a lot, and Vida enjoyed a Bailey’s Irish Cream with me yesterday,” she said. She said the women remembered celebrating the end of the World War II in 1945 with family and friends in Ballarat. “They have seen a lot of history between them, and raised children and achieved so much. “We are all very proud of them,” she said.