It’s not just sleigh bells that sing

OVER-60s in Midlothian have been getting in full swing of this season’s celebrations as they’ve been belting out their favourite carols in a community concert after months of rehearsals.

Tenants at Bield’s Whitehill Lodge Retirement housing in Dalkeith have been preparing for their Christmas recital together with Grassy Riggs Volunteering Action group, as well as others in their local community who were keen to get involved in the festive fun.

All dressed in their Christmas jumpers, the newly-formed choir got together to sing in front of friends and family and performed popular seasonal songs such as Silent Night and Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer.

And there was praise galore after the concert as everyone enjoyed teas, coffees with mince pies and cake in the beautifully decorated lounge area.

Yvonne Boyle, manager at Whitehill Lodge, said: “The tenants, along with their friends in the community, put on a great show. I think their friends and family were taken aback when they realised how good they sounded.”

And their Christmas celebrations don’t stop there. On Christmas day, residents will all join together for the full roast feast.

Yvonne said: “We’ve invited along anyone else in the community who doesn’t have any where to go for Christmas, too. It’s important that we’re all in good company at this time of year, to share the Christmas cheer.”

For traditional Christmas dinner, the diners will be offered a choice of melon or prawn cocktail to start, turkey or beef for the classic main, accompanied by all the trimmings, before tucking into trifle or Christmas pudding with a dash of brandy for dessert.

Yvonne said: “We put great thought into the menu and made sure that there was a choice for each course so that everyone’s meal is exactly to their taste.

“We’ll be catering to everyone here on Christmas day – even those that don’t normally opt in to the meal service, so it’s set to be a very social event. Everyone is looking forward to it.”