Elderberries are living it large
Pensioners’ group is just young at heart
A club for pensioners in Livingston is bearing fruit as its members prove they are anything but elderly.
The Elderberries group offers a wide range of exciting activities for its members every week who say the club helps to keep them young.
The group has been running for around two years and now boasts over 20 members who can take part in anything from indoor kurling to tai chi.
They also enjoy days out and special guests and most recently Gary Coupland of Singing Kettle fame dropped in to entertain the club with a sing-song.
Member Anne Lang said she hasn’t looked back since joining a year ago.
She said: “I felt at the time that I was not old enough to be joining a pensioners group but can I tell you it’s the best thing I ever did.
“The friendliness among the group members is amazing and we have such a good time.
“The type of activities we have could be anything from indoor skittles to armchair tai chi exercises.
“We also have our outdoor activities such as afternoon tea at Mill Farm, Jupiter Artland, walking to Howden Park Centre and we are also planning a day to Callander later this year.
“We have a lot going on and plenty to keep us occupied and very happy.
“I cannot praise the group enough as we have such a great crowd of about 20 odd ladies who all seem to get along so well together.”
The group welcomes people aged 60 and over and meets at Forestbank Community Education Centre in Ladywell every Tuesday from 2pm to 4pm.
Every second week is a simple dropin but members also enjoy camera club slide shows, theatre/ dinner nights, Singing for Health and much more.
Liz Howley, also a member of the group, continued: “We started the club almost two years ago to fill a need for Forestbank Community Education Centre in Ladywell, Livingston to cater
for the mature age group.
“Apparently they had been trying for years to attract all age groups to the centre but had never been successful with the older generation.
“Councillor Peter Johnston mentioned this fact to a group of residents who had been invited to a Christmas tea and he encouraged us to try to get together and see what would come of it.
“A group of us were delighted to be given this chance and it all started and continued from there with a small grant from the council, plus a small contribution from Peter Johnston. This started us off and we also pay a small sum of £1 per week. We have gone from strength to strength and we thoroughly enjoy our weekly meetings.”
For information about joining the group contact Sandra on 01506 430035.
We started the club almost two years ago to fill a need Liz Howley