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Forth Valley hospice benefits from special donation in memory of global pen pals

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dailyrecord.co.uk

A life-long international friendship between two pen pals - who never actually met face to face - has sparked a unique donation to Strathcarron Hospice.Bette (Elizabeth) Young and Margaret Wilson developed a pen pal friendship in 1948 that lasted a lifetime after Margaret’s class at primary school in New Zealand was each asked to fill an empty Griffin’s biscuit tin with non-perishable goods, a gift and a letter to be mailed to a school on the other side of the world.Margaret’s box, which included a bar of honey and heather soap, was then sent with the class’s parcels to the other side of the world – arriving at Bette Young’s class in Wellshot Primary School, Glasgow.The pair wrote to each other every month for almost 70 years sharing photos, cards and gifts for special occasions and in the latter years, phone calls.Margaret moved from New Zealand to Canada in 1970, the letters continuing alongside memorable gifts sent by Bette including special glass animals made by Bette’s husband Tom (Master Glassblower Tom Young MBE), a tartan recipe book and a treasured copy of the book ‘The Swallow, The Owl and The Sandpiper’.They shared the details of their lives and growing families, forming a special bond which lasted until 2017, when after an illness, sadly Bette died in Bridge of Allan at the age of 78, cared for by Strathcarron’s Hospice at Home team.Margaret was keen not to lose her connection with Scotland and the close bond she had built up with the family, so continued to keep in touch with Bette’s husband Tom – the broad Scottish accent always making Margaret feel connected to Scotland in some way - until Tom also sadly died in 2023, looked after in his final days by Strathcarron’s Hospice at Home service.Margaret, who

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