A 94-year-old Fife woman has been awarded mature volunteer of the year for her services to her 101-year-old ‘buddy’.
Nancy McGill, 94, works as a volunteer with Continuing Care, a service which connects those in need of care and companionship with designated ‘buddies’.
Nancy was due to receive the award from Fife Voluntary Action in a ceremony in June but unfortunately fell and broke her wrist shortly before.
To make matters worse, 101-year-old Ethil McKay, who she cares for, also injured herself and had to spend three weeks in Ninewells.
The two Cupar residents were in great spirits however as Nancy received her plaudits at Cairnie Fruit Farm for what Fife Provost Jim Leishman described as her ‘tremendous’ work.
He said: “On behalf of Fife Council and everyone in the community, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Nancy for her tremendous work.
“Over 30 years of volunteering with the organisation is just amazing I think everyone will agree.”
The two first connected nine years ago when Ethel requested some help from the charity to due her diminishing eye sight.
They have been close ever since and with the combined age of the pair just five years shy of a double century, it’s fair to say they have both seen more than most.
Born in 1914, just five months after the start of the Great War, Ethil grew up in Peterhead where she went on to work for Scottish Co-operative Oats before moving down to Fife in 1947.
She said: “I don’t remember anything from the First World War as I was so young.
“But I do remember a lot from the Second World War. One of the things I remember is flying a Union Jack flag out the window of the block of flats I lived in and dropping it.
“I got a smack for that one.”
Nancy, the daughter of a nomadic Englishman who worked in car manufacturing, grew up in Newcastle and lived in various UK cities before finding herself in Coventry at the beginning of the Second World War.
“I am very well travelled,” she said.
“Growing up, I went wherever my father was needed and with the start of the war, he took us to Coventry where he had to build planes instead of cars.
“Once I grew up and got married, things didn’t change in that sense as my husband worked in the RAF for 38 years.
“I have lived in so many places including Yemen, Pakistan and Singapore, all the while carting my three kids, Nancy, Andrew and Ian, around.”
Despite the pair’s obvious wisdom, they both struggled for a definitive answer when asked what the secret is to a long life.
“I’m not sure, ” said Ethel. “I think having good neighbours helps a lot.”
John Kerr, chairman of the service, concurred and said a community spirit is integral to Continuing Care’s ongoing success.
He said: “Having been formed in the 80s and now with over 40 volunteers, it is so important to all the rural communities around East Fife.
“Nancy’s commitment is a fantastic example of that.”
