Dear Bob,
Thank you for your Christmas Greetings followed by your family roundup which was interesting to read and certainly you and Janet are very proud of your talented daughter Kirsty who has achieved so much. Convey our CONGRATULATIONS to Kirsty. We too are proud of her.
As I had set up a blog spot for your family last year, I have attached your 2018 posting to the blog and it will be updated next year or when you send me updates and family photographs.
Thank you for your Christmas Greetings followed by your family roundup which was interesting to read and certainly you and Janet are very proud of your talented daughter Kirsty who has achieved so much. Convey our CONGRATULATIONS to Kirsty. We too are proud of her.
As I had set up a blog spot for your family last year, I have attached your 2018 posting to the blog and it will be updated next year or when you send me updates and family photographs.
Wishing you all
A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year
Love from Benny & Betty
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Hi all,
Hoping this finds you all well and
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Guid New Year
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Guid New Year
Bob
8 Glendarvel Place
Balfarg
Glenrothes
KY7 6GN
December 2018 superpars68@sky.com
Hi All,
Well that's another year gone and eventful one that turned out to be momentous for Kirsty so it's probably best starting by recounting what she got up to and probably best to do it chronologically.
After a reasonably quiet January she was appointed, in February, to the Women's and Girls in Sport Advisory Board advising the Scottish Government and making recommendations to increase female participation in sport. Also in February she was asked to speak at the launch of the Mental Health Charter for Physical Activity and Sport about her own experiences. It was also about this time she applied to the University of Highlands to complete the Honours part of her degree in Child and Youth Studies and is fitting that in with her other commitments. In March she got a job working two days a week, as Regional Development Manager for the Highlands & Islands, with Scottish Disability Sport for two days a week in addition to her managing role in Secondary Schools sport competition in Scotland . In May as part of her role on the Sport Scotland Young People's Panel she spent two days in Dublin advising Irish counterparts on the Year of the Young People, and promoting the European Championships with Aileen Campbell, the Scottish Minister for Health and Sport. She was also invited and attended the Reception held by Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, to recognise Team Scotland's athletes who had competed at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April. In June she completed her role on the Young People's Sport Panel and was involved in the recruitment and induction of the new Panel. In addition to her working hours she still continued to organise the Scottish Open Water Swimming Championships and coaching at the Inverness Swimming Club and Highland Swim Team. Also in June she was invited to open the UK Coaching Conference which was held in Edinburgh, a great honour which had her rubbing shoulders with Judy Murray and Dame Katherine Grainger as well as many other coaches and sportspeople. This together with her speech at the launch of the Mental Health initiative in February gave her a wonderful platform for her volunteering work.
In August she volunteered at the European Championships in Glasgow at the Open Water event and of course she and Jan managed to attend a couple of the Pool Finals sessions, she was even selected as Volunteer of the Day during the championships. In October she was assistant coach to the Scottish Open Water Development team of four, who competed in Cyprus, in a very successful event where the two girls won 3 gold, 2 silver and a bronze medal and the boys both finished in the top 10 in each of their three events.
The last two months of the year have just been surreal though as she received three awards for her voluntary work. On November 16th she was awarded the Sport Scotland Volunteer of the Year Award at a ceremony in Glasgow City Chambers, one of the other award winners that night was a certain Jurgen Klopp who received one as part of the coaching chain of the Scotland Football Captain, Andy Robertson but he wasn't there to receive his. The following night she was in Nairn to receive the Highland Award from Highlife Highland sponsored by Sport Scotland and it was a different panel who chose her for this award from the national one the night before. To cap an amazing three days she was in Inverness the next day to be crowned the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero for Scotland and was filmed working with her swimming squad, parents and other coaches who were also interviewed as part of her film. The film will be shown with the other 14 winners throughout the UK and be judged by another panel to decide the overall winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards live from Birmingham on the evening of 16th December (it is unlikely that we'll see her on the show unless she was to win but we think the 15 Finalists are being shown on the RED Button between 6.00pm and 7.00pm). As you can imagine she is more excited about spending time in the company of sports people she admires and expecially for the After party where she can mix with them and get lots of selfies. We really couldn't be more proud of her particularly as we know the agonies and difficulties she has had to overcome to achieve what she has. We can't wait for the Christmas/New Year fortnight this year as for a change it will seem like a rest period given the whirlwind couple of months that have preceded it.
Jan continues to enjoy her retirement and together with Kirsty visited London in March and is using her free bus pass to enjoy trips up to Inverness to see Kirsty and together they have been to a number of theatre events throughout the year including Scottish Ballet productions, Diversity, Michael MacIntyre and Jason Manford, Kirsty has also been to see various music acts including Ed Sheerin and Little Mix. However the trip to London was not without drama as late snow storms ended up curtailing their trip to London as Jan was stranded in Glenrothes for two days before she could get to an Airport.
These snow storms were followed by a very wet Spring, a wonderful hot Summer and a blowy Autumn but Jan and Bob were still able to follow the usual pattern by carrying on visiting many parts of Scotland and England this year. We went to the Beautiful Isle of Bute for a week in March (after the snow), spent another great week on the Isle of Skye in May when we were blessed with fantastic weather and also had short breaks in Grantown-on-Spey, Inverness and Forres in June as well as Inveraray in November. In October we finally got to see the Blackpool Illuminations, spending a couple of days there and visited Liverpool for two days as well. Bob is still playing Golf and Walking, he and his pal Crawfy hiked the Clyde Walkway this year as well as other walks along the Forth and Clyde Canal. He still goes to watch Dunfermline but this year has been more difficult as they are not doing very well but he perseveres in the hope they will eventually return to the Premiership He went to The Open Golf Championship with Kirsty in July and also attended the Scottish Open Golf Championship, with Jan in July, the British Seniors Open at St Andrews in September and the Dunhill Cup at Kingsbarns in October. The rest of the time he and Jan walk the dogs daily and just chill.
Well guys I hope this hasn't put you all to sleep and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Guid New Year and as always everyone is welcome to come and visit any time.
Janet, Bob and Kirsty
Please click on the link below to view Video clip Kirsty
VIDEO LINK
GET INSPIRED
GET INSPIRED
Unsung Hero: 'Volunteering in sport saved my life'
- From the section Get Inspired
BBC
Get Inspired takes a look at Scotland's Unsung Hero winner for 2018 -
swimming volunteer Kirsty Ewen, who overcame mental health issues to
inspire others to do the same and find a better place through swimming.
Find out who is crowned the Get Inspired Unsung Hero 2018 winner during BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday, 16 December at 19:00 GMT on BBC One and the BBC Sport website & app.
Find out who is crowned the Get Inspired Unsung Hero 2018 winner during BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday, 16 December at 19:00 GMT on BBC One and the BBC Sport website & app.
Unsung Hero: 'Volunteering in sport saved my life'
- From the section Get Inspired
BBC
Get Inspired takes a look at Scotland's Unsung Hero winner for 2018 -
swimming volunteer Kirsty Ewen, who overcame mental health issues to
inspire others to do the same and find a better place through swimming.
Find out who is crowned the Get Inspired Unsung Hero 2018 winner during BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday, 16 December at 19:00 GMT on BBC One and the BBC Sport website & app.
Find out who is crowned the Get Inspired Unsung Hero 2018 winner during BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday, 16 December at 19:00 GMT on BBC One and the BBC Sport website & app.
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