Fun of the fair for daredevil 100-year-old
ANDREA LAMBROU
A thrill-seeking East Kilbride centenarian rolled back the years to help Glasgow’s IrnBru Carnival celebrate its 100th birthday.
During its final week organisers, QD Events, invited pensioner Margaret Mitchell along as their guest of honour.
The great-gran is marking her own 100th birthday with a year-long run of extraordinary celebrations which saw her in the fast lane with an action packed go-karting experience.
Brave Margaret turned 100 in August and took her pals to The Experience in Glasgow for their adrenaline-fuelled trip.
A Royal Air Force veteran, who joined the RAF on her 21st birthday, Margaret got her next big thrill at the carnival with friends and staff from Parksprings Care Home in Motherwell, where she now lives.
Trips to the carnival in Glasgow have been a regular occurrence for generations of the Mitchell family – first at its home at the Kelvin Hall and then at the SEC.
And the memories came flooding back on this latest visit.
Margaret said: “I loved the chair-oplanes and hook a duck when I was younger and loved seeing them and all of the other shows today.
“It is great to be given the chance to participate in the fair which has been such an amazing family event and brought so much joy and happiness to the family over the past 100 years.
“I would never have dreamt at 100 that I would have the joy of all of these new experiences.”
Greg Cherry, managing director of QD Events, said: “It’s a very special birthday for the Irn-Bru Carnival and Margaret. She is an incredible lady who is fitting so much into her centenary year and we thought this was the perfect chance to invite her along to join the celebrations.
“The carnival has been a fixture in Glasgow for 100 years now and remains as popular as ever. This year has been one of the biggest and best to date.”
The carnival visit is the latest way Margaret has marked her landmark birthday, with staff at Parksprings organising a year of incredible experiences.
Guests at her birthday party included Motherwell’s Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant, local RAF cadets, fellow veterans, the RAF Benevolent Fund, the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and performances from local musicians.
As well as her birthday message from the Queen, Margaret also enjoyed a day at the races, go-karting and saw the Scottish Parliament pay tribute following a motion by local MSP Clare Adamson.
The active 100-year-old has also been ice skating at East Kilbride Rink, undergone eight weeks training with Scottish Opera and took part in a live performance, working with the Princes Trust to help students gain their awards and with children with special needs as a volunteer for the Leonard Cheshire Trust – where she worked on a dance programme with a former dancer with Take That.
Other regular activities include ice skating in East Kilbride and works on an intergenerational programme, learning Thai Chi alongside local children.
Plans are also underway for Margaret to return to the skies and go on a birthday skydive.
Rose Brennan, events co-ordinator at Parksprings, said: “Margaret is an amazing, cool lady who takes everything in her stride and grateful at 100 to be able to participate in so many new and exciting experiences. We try and make our residents’ dreams come true.”
The eldest of five siblings, Margaret has two surviving brothers, Tom, who now lives in Australia and Jim, who still stays locally. She has two sons, Robert and Duncan and six grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
She and her husband, Duncan, originally lived in East Kilbride before the family moved to Motherwell and has stayed at Parksprings Care Home since 2018.