Miriam and Hannah Sanderson's batmitzvahs

The twins were batmitzvah at Harrow and Wembley Progressive Synagogue. Both are Watford Grammar pupils and BBYO members and have a puppy called Poppy and two goldfish - the latter a present after brother Joseph's barmitzvah four years ago. Their mother, Danielle, is an international distance runner who has represented Britain over 20 times and won Maccabiah gold during a long career

What was special about your simchah?

"Our dad Steven taught us, just as he taught Joseph for his barmitzvah," Miriam says. "We studied with dad for a year, and have been going to cheder for eight years. It was also the first time identical twins had had a batmitzvah at our shul." Hannah adds: "Our 94-year old great-grandmam, Myra, was there for the simchah and said she thoroughly enjoyed it. And it was one of the rare
occasions when our mum wasn't wearing running clothes."

Tell us about the ceremony

"We each read quite long portions of the Torah in Hebrew and English, and read the Haftorah in English," says Hannah. Miriam recalls "a lovely kiddush afterwards".

Tell us about the party

"The party was at Latimer House near Chorleywood," says Miriam. "The weather that evening was awful - torrential rain and flooding - so the caricaturist and chocolate fountain man were severely delayed and lots of guests had a dreadful journey. We chose Latimer House because of the wonderful views over the Chess Valley and intended having the reception outside, but that was impossible. Still, once people arrived, they could forget about the weather and concentrate on enjoying themselves for the night." Hanna says: "The food had to be vegetarian and nut-free as we are vegetarian and are both allergic to nuts. Various people made jokes about there being no meat, but they all seemed to enjoy the food. There was a disco and our batmitzvah cake had icing models of us sitting on top."