A Stirling woman celebrated a milestone birthday by living out a long-held dream – roller skating through the city’s top shopping centre.
On the evening of Wednesday, August 4, the Thistles shopping centre kept its doors open after hours to help make Kerry Anne Bear’s dream come true on her 50th birthday.
Kerry Anne’s husband Iain, contacted the Thistles Centre to set up a surprise birthday gift like no other by arranging the out-of-hours experience.
Having been a keen ice skater as a child, Iain explained that each time they visit Thistles, Kerry Anne comments how she’d love to roller skate through the shopping centre.
Kitting her out with new roller skates for the occasion, Iain thought the experience would not only make a special gift for his wife’s milestone birthday, but also prove that he does listen to her.
Birthday girl, Kerry Anne, said: “I’m still in shock. I can’t believe Iain did this for me. It really was a dream come true and the best birthday present I could have asked for.
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“Thanks to the team at the Thistles centre for making it happen – it certainly won’t be a birthday I’ll ever forget.”
Kerry Anne, who began roller skating as a child after being gifted adjustable skates, works for Volunteer Scotland and she and Iain have two sons, 16-year-old Ramsay and 12-year-old Logan.
To mark the special occasion Thistles presented Kerry Anne with birthday balloons from Card Factory and flowers from Marks and Spencer, to make her already special day even more memorable.
Gary Turnbull, centre director at the Thistles, said: “This was certainly a first for us and we were really delighted to help make Kerry Anne’s dream to skate through the centre come true.
“We’re committed to supporting our local community through #ThistlesHelps, so when Iain got in touch with the request we worked with the retailers in the centre to not only provide her with a personal skating rink for the evening but also some lovely birthday gifts.
“We hope the experience helped make Kerry Anne’s 50th birthday even more special.”
