BETH’S PERFORMING AGAIN AT THE AGE OF 89
Alasdair at a dance in Dunoon when she travelled there for a show at the age of 22. They got married eight years later. She joked: “We were married for 50 years and Al said, ‘You only get seven years for murder.’” The couple emigrated to Australia in 1962. While Beth was performing in Bathurst, New South Wales, she met the Bee Gees. She said: “The twins, Robin and Maurice, were 16 and were both a wee bit big in the head but Barry was a lovely guy and he kept them down. “Their mum and dad drove them up in a station wagon. And I wheeled Andy in his stroller round the dressing room to give his mum a chance for a cigarette in peace. “I performed after the Bee Gees had done their bit, so I suppose the biggest band of the 70s were once my warm-up act.” After she retired from showbusiness, Beth and Al ran a farm and then post offices. The couple, who didn’t have children, returned to Scotland in 1988 and settled in Dunoon. Beth was devastated when Al passed away 10 years ago. Eventually, her GP contacted the Cowal Elderly Befrienders. The charity’s project co-ordinator Robin Miller recalled: “When I first met Beth, she hadn’t left the house for a couple of years – and didn’t really want to either.”
Beth admitted: “I just wanted to be with my old man.
“The Befrienders are a wonderful bunch of people. I don’t know what I would do without them.”
Beth, who stopped singing after she lost Al, is now performing again at gatherings organised by the Befrienders.
Robin said: “Beth helps us as much as we help her. She’s very good with everybody, she makes friends with people and includes them in everything.”
The Cowal Elderly Befrienders got almost £400,000 from a National Lottery fund to help reduce loneliness and bring communities together.
The money was used to employ support workers to help people connect with family and friends, chat to those who are isolated and build networks.
When Beth looks back on her life she feels grateful.
She said: “I’ve been extremely lucky. I had a wonderful single life – I loved entertainment, I loved the theatre – and then I had a wonderful husband – the best in the world.” ● Find out more about the charity at www.cowalbefrienders.co.uk. The charity video featuring Beth is at youtube.com/watch?v=nJBqnSvcLuc.