Residents in Shawlands threw a socially-distanced 90th birthday party for a local woman after a desperate appeal from her family down in England for help.
Margaret Cullen's family had planned a huge celebration for her landmark birthday over 400 miles away where they live down in Essex in a local hall last weekend - but had to cancel it due to the ongoing lockdown restrictions.
With the surprise party coming about after kind-hearted locals saw niece Karen's request for help on Facebook group Shawlands Community Group in trying to source a hamper from a local business to send 'Auntie Margaret'.
Speaking to Glasgow Live, niece Karen said: "We are her only family unfortunately and she’s the only one of us living in Scotland. Since it was her 90th birthday last week, she was meant to be here of course but she couldn’t come.
"I’d lost hope, I tried so hard to get her flowers or a hamper or something of some afternoon tea. I 'googled' afternoon tea delivery things locally and nothing came up at all. I tried everything, I literally tried for a week to get a hamper together for her.
"I just wanted to give her a lunch, that’s all I wanted to do. To give her a lunch on her birthday. Then last Thursday I had an idea to go to a local Facebook page".
And after asking for help on the Shawlands Community Group page, she was inundated with responses by locals saying they would take her gifts and go to the street outside her house to wish her a Happy Birthday.
Karen said: "When I did I put a post on there asking for help about getting some afternoon tea then all these people said they’d love to take her some flowers and that my children bake cakes and things like that.
"Honestly I spent three days responding to messages from the residents in Shawlands. It was just great. Absolutely fantastic.
"Because of Auntie Margaret's age I was concerned about posting her address so what I suggested was that everyone who would like to wish her Happy Birthday to do so at the same time.
"That’s what I posted and that’s what happened. It was lovely. She got herself done up and she put her makeup on - she looked like the Queen!
"She was shocked. She couldnt get her head round it at all. She said ‘how do these people know it’s my birthday’.
She’s a very private person and an independent person, so that was the hardest thing. She’s an absolute gem of a woman. She really is".
The impromptu party has allowed Karen to create a "massive" connection with Auntie Margaret's neighbours and other members of the local community, and one that she says "helped the family sleep better" the night of Auntie Margaret's birthday.
And if that wasn't enough, staff at Morrison's in Newlands caught wind of Karen's request, and sent two of their staff over with a hamper for Auntie Margaret to enjoy.
"Her flat is literally full, you couldn't put another flower in her flat. They are everywhere. We had little girls give her a balloon, they even put her name on the balloon. It was just so good", Karen added.
"She’s so far away but that day just brought us all together. It was just perfect".
And Karen has a special message for all those who, without knowing one another, gathered to wish her auntie a very special 90th birthday outside her flat.
"We are just so overwhelmed and just grateful to everyone for making her day special and also for making us feel that we were part of it.
"She should have had a big old party down here, she should have had it all but it wasn’t to be. What she had, it was absolutely top. You can’t top that."
