A couple of weeks ago, I attended a Funolympics event at Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom.
The genesis of this concept came back in 1996, when Bill Farquhar from the council’s leisure department, Jim Byres – formerly the proprietor of the Brentwood Hotel – and I got together to arrange an event which could be opened up to those with additional support needs in the local area. The idea was to have a set of team games, provide the participants with a supper, then give them a disco to enjoy.
Despite the first one being a bit of a washout, due to the fact we held it outside and it was raining, we learned from our mistakes. The following year, we held the event in the Beach Ballroom and, thanks to Jim Byres, we got helpful volunteer assistants from the Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels Association – voluntary support which still continues.
The event has been run along these lines for nearly 30 years now. This year’s Funolympics attracted 200 participants, plus carers and staff. Every participant gets a medal, and they enjoy a fun afternoon.
Last week, I was fortunate to attend a Christmas party at the Len Ironside Centre in Mastrick. The staff and volunteers spent several weeks working with severely disabled adults, learning Christmas carols and preparing short sketches. Their parents and carers were invited to come along and enjoy the performance.
Sounds simple, but it can be very challenging for some of those clients, and involves a considerable amount of work for the staff and volunteers. But the clients were proud of their performance and everyone enjoyed the show. You could feel the positive atmosphere.
Poverty and homelessness rates don’t reflect well on our society
Befriend a Child runs a very successful and award-winning Christmas Giving Tree appeal, which gives every child the charity works with a present for Christmas. Many of those children – more than 200, living in challenging circumstances and often in serious poverty – would get very little, if anything at all, but for this initiative.
Sadly, in Scotland alone, one child in four lives in poverty; an extremely poor reflection on our society.
Walking down Union Street recently, I came across Street Friends volunteers, in their fluorescent yellow jackets, handing out free teas and coffees to anyone who required them, particularly homeless people. This is very welcome, given the nights of hard frost and torrential rain the homeless community have endured recently.
There are over 53,000 people in Scotland who are homeless. That’s appalling.
It strikes me that Aberdonians are a very generous lot, and always have been. We have companies in the north-east which donate to various charities, often keeping them in business, a public who are always keen to give cash, and volunteers who help out where and when needed. People are always willing to support good causes.
Sometimes we take this for granted, or just don’t even think about it. But, in this part of the world, we have always had a passion for giving and helping others out.
Let somebody else know you care with a small gesture
So, as we approach the Christmas period, I ask everyone to think about doing something, however small it may seem, to help someone else out. Be it a friendly word, a call checking to see that they are OK, or simply donating to an established charity.
It’s enough for some people just to know that somebody bothered to take the time to show they were interested and cared.
I get angry with politicians who ask for your vote then ignore your issues
Remember, loneliness is a silent killer, especially of older people and particularly men. Around one in four people are estimated to be affected by mental health problems in Scotland in any one year. This is why I get angry with politicians who ask for your vote then ignore your issues.
Whilst the religious connotations of Christmas have been pushed to one side these days, we still love this time of year, and children enjoy the story. The joy on young faces, the feeling of community, and love for our friends and families – passing around the spirit of goodwill to others mean so much to us all. And rightly so.
I wish you all a very happy and hopeful Christmas.
Len Ironside CBE is a former champion wrestler who served as an Aberdeen councillor for 35 years, with four years as council leader
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