Thistles helps local’s dream come true

Thistles opens after hours to make roller skating dream come true for local’s 50th birthday

On the evening of Wednesday 4 August, Thistles shopping centre in Stirling kept its doors open after hours to help make the long-held dream of Stirling local, Kerry Anne, come true on her 50th birthday.

Kerry Anne’s husband, Iain, contacted the 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 am 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. 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 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 are 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.”

Stirling city centre has a long history of roller skating, with an 8,200 sq ft skating rink previously situated in King’s Street. When it opened in November 1909 the rink admitted over 1,000 skaters in the first four days alone.

For more information on Thistles visit www.thistlesstirling.com