Leamington home treats resident Lilly to reel good time

Lilly Tideswell was transported back to her roots in Scotland when care home, MHA Homewood, in Kenilworth Road, invited the Leamington Spa branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society to the home.

94-year-old Lilly, who has lived at Homewood since July 2017, learned to dance when she was 8 years old.

She grew up in Greenock on the west coast of Scotland, where she paid “two shillings and threepence” for dance lessons each week, often donning the McGregor tartan.

This is the second time the local Scottish country dancers have come to Homewood to showcase their talents.

A number of residents first learnt about the history of Scottish country dancing and what it entails, before being treated to three different dances by the visitors, enjoying a cup of tea and chat at the end.

Scottish country dancing is always a social dance, it can be fast, such as a hornpipe, jig or reel, as well as slow, like the Strathspey.

Resident Lilly enjoyed seeing the traditional dances from her childhood once again with friends in her new home.

Jackie Tudor, activities coordinator at Homewood, said: “It was so lovely to see Lilly with the dancers, you could tell she was really enjoying reminiscing.

“It’s so important to have these sorts of events that connect our residents to past memories.”