A woman who has spent her life in far-flung places has celebrated her 100^th birthday at a Dundee retirement housing development.

Emily Lyall, who was born in Soho and grew up in Kent, made India, Egypt and Singapore her home before returning to the UK.

Celebrating with family and friends at Bield’s Strathmartine Court, Emily revealed that her secret to long life was to enjoy life’s little things in moderation.

Emily’s daughter-in-law Mabel said: “Emily has spent a lot of time abroad but has always felt the call of home!”

Emily’s globe-trotting life was with her husband John, of the Royal Army Pay Corps, with whom she had four children, nine grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and, now, two great-great-grandchildren.

Mabel added: “It is a fantastic achievement and we are all so proud of her, right down to the two wee ones.”

Colin Milne, Manager at Strathmartine Court, said: “Everyone at the development loves Emily and we’d like to say a big congratulations!

“We are all thrilled we were able to be a part of this significant occasion in Emily’s life.”

Emily’s typifies Bield’s ‘Free to Be’ ethos, which aims to enable people to make their own choices and live as independently as possible.

Bield Housing, Turnbull Court
(C) Wullie Marr/HOLYROODPR

A £200,000 investment will see a Berwickshire retirement housing development boost the independence of tenants and improve accessibility.

Bield’s ‘Step Free’ project will see four state-of-the-art internal platform lifts installed at Turnbull Court, in Duns, and an enclosed external vertical platform lift.

Cllr John Greenwell of the Scottish Borders Council said:

“In my capacity as the Equalities & Diversity Champion at Scottish Borders Council, I am pleased to see the positive steps Bield is taking at Turnbull Court – installing a number of measures to improve accessibility for tenants to all parts of the complex.

“I look forward to seeing the work commence in March and of course the finished project.”

The ‘Step Free’ project seeks to further maximise the freedom of all Bield’s tenants, in line with their ‘Free to Be’ ethos, as they make improvements to provide the highest quality of housing for older people in Scotland.

Significant levels of investments is planned over the next 13 years as part of Bield’s Asset Management Strategy which looks to make the most of the resources at their disposal to provide tenants and residents with the highest quality housing possible.

Bield Housing, Turnbull Court
(C) Wullie Marr/HOLYROODPR

Susan Napier, Bield’s Chair said:

“We are delighted to be making such a valuable addition to Turnbull Court.

“While all the communal areas of the development have always been accessible from the ground floor it is great to ensure an extra level of flexibility for our current and future tenants.

“There are a number of Bield developments that were built in the 1970’s and one of the key objectives of our Asset Management Strategy is to have a bespoke approach for each, to improve access and demand.”

First built in 1975 with 36 retirement flats, Turnbull Court includes communal facilities such as a residents lounge, communal heating system and laundry.

The development currently has available properties for rent and people over 50 looking for a new home in the Scottish Borders can call in to the development and view a show home or call 0131 273 4000.

Operating at 152 developments across Scotland, Bield is one of Scotland’s leading care and housing providers.

Bield has a diverse range of retirement housing and sheltered housing across the country catering to people with varying types of needs. For more infromation about Bield, visit www.bield.co.uk.

A Bo’ness care home had a Burns Night to remember as they hosted an evening of fine dining, music and quizzes – all with a distinctly Scottish flavour.

Bield’s Woodlands care home, on Kinneil Drive, celebrated the birth of the Ploughman Poet, with an evening of crafts and sing-a-longs, topped off by a traditional rich three course menu.

The classic Burns Night menu was on offer for the night and tenants tucked into a starter of Scotch broth, followed by a main of haggis, neeps and tatties or square sausage stovies. For dessert Scottish tablet ice cream, tea and coffee with shortbread or even a “wee dram” was on offer.

After the meal tenants were invited to take part in a Scottish themed quiz, followed by ‘sangs an’ clatter’ and Auld Lang Syne to finish.

Senior Care Assistant, Jill Moffat, told of how activities such as this can be beneficial for the tenants and the importance of celebrating Burns Night.

She said “It was a great night with fantastic food, drinks and music – and the tenants all got to sing a song or two.

“Events like these give the tenants the chance to do something out of their normal routine and everyone thoroughly enjoyed celebrating such a patriotic event.

This Burns Supper celebration is a fantastic example of Bield’s ‘Free to Be’ ethos that seeks to let people make their own independent choice as much as possible.

Manager at Bield’s West Port Resource Centre, where she has worked for 19 years, Christine Donnelly raised the total by completing a formidable 10k just a week after coming back from holiday.

Christine said: “I had done plenty of training beforehand but a holiday is not the ideal run up to such a big event, to say the least.

“I put in a good time though and I’m delighted to be putting the funds back into the service to help support some of the work and activities going on at Bield. With Gift Aid, this will bring the total to over £750 so thank you to everyone who sponsored me.”

Posting a quick one hour and two minute time, Christine was cheered on by a number of the service users at West Port as well as fellow staff and family members.

Coinciding with the centre’s 20^th year the celebrations continued back at West Port where service users, Christine and other staff were able to wind down and enjoy some refreshments.

Christine added: “It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces along the course and it really helped to push me over the line.

“Then to go back to the development and have a double celebration really added to the whole experience.”

Having taken part in some five kilometre races previously Christine has form in raising money through running, but had never previously taken on this longer distance.

Bield’s ‘Free to Be’ policy, meaning residents are encouraged to live the lives they want while having the option of support when needed.

Bield’s Whitehill Court opened their doors to pupils from Merkland Primary and Secondary School just a week after the choir had performed at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Michelle Furphy, Head of the Choir, said:

“I’m really proud of all the children in the Choir, they have been practising every morning in the run up to the performances this Christmas. It is amazing what they have achieved and they all put on a fantastic show for the tenants.

“Performing can be a bit of a challenge for some of the kids but seeing how well they do as a group is fantastic – they gain a lot of confidence.”

After the children performed a mix of Christmas songs and pop songs, including their very own version of 500 Miles, the tenants and children enjoyed a festive treat of some mince pies, chocolate and juice.

Margaret McEwan, Retirement Housing Manager at Whitehill Court, said:

“It was a wonderful event and lovely to have a visit from some wonderfully talented singers to get us into the Christmas spirit!”

Merkland Primary and Secondary School is for children aged 5 to 18 with additional support needs. The choir was formed ten years ago and now has 48 children including three guitarists.

Festive events like this are a great example of Bield’s ‘Free to Be’ ethos which aims to enable people to make their own choices and live as independently as possible.

Tenants at a Cumbernauld Retirement Housing Development have worked hard with the community to ensure disadvantaged children across Europe can enjoy a Merry Christmas with something to unwrap.

More than 50 hats were made while development manager, Elizabeth Fox, designed her very own puppets to be donated to children in Romania and Belarus.

267 Shoeboxes were filled by New College Lanarkshire students with help from knitting knowledge and gifts donated by a group of avid crafters from Bield’s Hillcrest Court.

Elizabeth said: “We’ve now been making these donations for five years and make sure we have a good start by kicking things back off again in January!

“Not only is it a great cause but it really brings our tenants together as they work to produce some fantastic presents for the coming festive season.”

This year the tenants were delighted, in addition to making clothes and woolly candy canes, to pass on their expertise to a new generation. A group of students at the New College Lanarkshire’s Cumbernauld Campus worked with tenants to pick up knitting-needles and make a start on their own contributions.

The college spoiled the tenants with tea and Jam scones as a thank you for all their efforts in helping them to fill such a fantastic number of boxes.

Lecturer at New College Lanarkshire, Beatrice Soutar said: “This year’s group have worked very hard and have been so involved and so enthusiastic in trying to send as many shoeboxes as they can from the College to the children.

“We hope that by doing this we will help bring happiness to children around the world who do not normally receive anything on Christmas Day.”

Since 1990, The Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Appeal has given more than 124 million shoeboxes to children living in poverty across the globe.

Elizabeth added: “Handing down a wee bit of knowledge to the wider community has been a lovely addition this year and might even improve the total of donations for next year!”

Activities like this are an excellent example of Bield’s ‘Free to Be’ ethos, which aims to enable people to make their own choices and live as independently as possible.

Bield’s Langvout Court hosted more than 50 guests from their sheltered housing, care home and day care services as they combined their festivities for the first time.

Hannah Wade, Assistant Manager at Langvout Court, said:

“In previous years we have held separate parties for each part of the development but this Christmas we wanted to step up our celebrations and get everyone involved together.”

Tenants and service-users donated items to hampers that were raffled off at the party to raise funds.

Service-users, family and friends were able to kick off the festive season in style with a host of entertainment with a fantastic 3 course meal and mince pies provided by the cooks at Langvout: Fiona Muir, Ann Miller, Christina Seeley and Jane McMorran.

Accordion and Guitar duo, Reels on Wheels, provided the music for tenants and staff to enjoy.

Hannah added: “We’re always delighted to see everyone getting really involved and the party was no exception – a great way to celebrate Christmas.

“All the staff and tenants had huge smiles on their faces and it’s set us up brilliantly for the festive season.”

These kinds of events are a great example of Bield’s ‘Free to Be’ ethos, which aims to enable people to make their own choices and live as independently as possible.