90th celebrations - despite lockdown
It wasn’t exactly the 90th birthday celebration that Sheena Boughey’s family had planned for her but they ensured her special day didn’t pass unnoticed.
The Netherton woman who lives in Thomson Avenue reached the milestone age and although her family couldn’t visit they still wanted to make it special, so they got in touch with the Wishaw Press to see if we could help.
As well as being a grandmother to 11, Sheena has five daughters; Jennifer, Elizabeth, Pauline and Evelyn who are twins, and Yvonne.
She also has 12 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren who all love her dearly.
Sheena’s granddaughter Julie Muldoon, said: “The family were all going to go out for a celebration lunch up in Lanark but we had to cancel the celebrations.
“We all live nearby and we’ll probably still do that when this is over.
“My cousin asked us all to do video messages because we can’t go to see her in person, and I thought it would be a special surprise for her if her birthday was mentioned in the paper.
“Her brother Robert and his family also live not too far away in Cumbernauld, and she has family as far away as Australia.
“We all just wanted to wish her a special 90th birthday.”
Despite her age, the pensioner isn’t usually one for staying home for such long periods.
“We all joke that she probably has a busier social life than the rest of us,” Julie continued. “Although she doesn’t get out as often as she used to she is still quite active and likes going out.
“I asked her the other day if she ever imagined a time in her life when things would be like this and she said ‘no, never’.
“My gran still has her carers going in and my mum stays in the flat above her so she is able to get her shopping.
“She is quite good with Facetime so the rest of us having been keeping in touch with that.”
Sadly, it’s not the first time that a family celebration has been memorable for the wrong reason.
Julie added: “My papa, her husband Donald, passed away almost eight years ago on their 60th wedding anniversary but we know he will also be celebrating her birthday.”
In the weeks before Sheena was born in 1930, workhouses were abolished in Britain, and for the only time in history a BBC newsreader announced live on radio that “there is no news today”.