Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Whizzing round town with “Scooter Gran”

Scooter Gran Barbel Roerig is a massive hits on the streets of Perth. A group of primary school pupils (and Gayle Ritchie) followed her lead.

Zipping through the streets on her scooter, her flowery skirt billowing in the breeze, it’s hard work keeping up with Barbel Roerig.

The 79-year-old became an online sensation in 2012 after being filmed speeding around Perth on her scooter with her shopping.

Barbel – better known as scooter gran – is inspiring kids (and adults) to get fit and be more active and when I meet up with her at the town’s North Inch, she has a string of pupils from St Ninian’s Primary in tow.

The retired architect took up the funky mode of transport 14 years ago.

Gayle trails in scooter gran's wake!
Gayle trails in scooter gran’s wake!

“Buses don’t go in the direction I want, including to my allotment on Moncrieffe Island,” she explains.

“I had a bike but it was difficult getting it up and down stairs.”

It was a trip to Oslo that inspired Barbel to take up the scooter, after seeing airport staff whizzing by on big ones.

“The scooter is ideal,” she beams.

“It’s like a shopping trolley and transport rolled into one. I dangle bags from the handlebars – I’ve had up to six – and the more bags I carry, the better the balance.”

The kids all loved scooter gran!
The kids all loved scooter gran!

While her first scooter was, in Barbel’s words, “an extension of myself, a good friend for 11 years”, its successor hasn’t been quite as user-friendly.

“On the first day I rode it, I caught a pavement edge and ended up lying on High Street!” she recalls.

“I wasn’t hurt – more shocked and embarrassed!”

What Barbel enjoys most about riding her scooter is when it gets her noticed.

“I love it when young men wave at me from their cars!” she grins.

“People don’t pay any attention to me if I’m not on my scooter.”

Barbel balances shopping bags on her scooter - the more the better!
Barbel balances shopping bags on her scooter – the more the better!

Having never been on a scooter, I’m slightly cautious and a lot slower than Barbel and the kids who follow in her wake (and I don’t fancy the attention!).

It’s quite a bit of exercise and requires good balance.

Barbel – who is German – has it down to a tee and I watch as she pushes off with one of her beige pumps.

She is very graceful. Alas, I am not.

Most of the kids who’ve come along have their own scooters and many either walk or scoot to school every day, spurred on by the plucky pensioner.

“I like scooting better than walking,” says seven-year-old Campbell McNeillie.

“And scooter gran is just ace.”

Scooting along with Barbel.
Scooting along with Barbel.

Sarah Bozic, 10, says most of her pals have scooters and she reckons it’s better exercise than walking, quicker than the bus and good for the environment.

Nine-year-old Elize Grogan loves scooting to school and round the streets near her house.

“I use it all the time in summer,” she says. “And when I’m stressed, I either bake or go on my scooter.” Wise words indeed.

St Ninian’s is taking part in the year-long WOW challenge set by Living Streets Scotland, which encourages children to walk to school at least once a week.

Now, 67% of pupils walk to the classroom, with 10% making the school run on scooters, thanks to a dedicated scooter park in the playground.

It’s thanks to Donna Cromb, schools associate for Living Streets Scotland, that scooter gran is on board.

“I spent about a year trying to track down Barbel and I’m so delighted I did,” she says.

“She is a great advocate for the WOW project, so enthusiastic and of course, very active – a fantastic role model for children.

“We want to keep cars away from schools and encourage kids to walk to school or use some form of active transport, like a scooter, skateboard or bike.”

Scooting is fab fun!
Scooting is fab fun!

info

WOW runs in schools all over the UK and has a high participation in Scotland including Dundee, Fife and Angus.

The project not only encourages walking but also other forms of active travel such as cycling, scooting and park and stride (parking away from the school and walking at least 10 minutes).

The school sets a threshold for the number of active journeys required per week and if the children meet the target they are awarded a badge every month.

www.livingstreets.org.uk