Jam maker's scone and got party plans down to a tea

Published on Friday 12 September 2008 10:08

IT will be one of the biggest tea parties the city has ever seen.

Teenage entrepreneur Fraser Doherty has fond memories of his grandmother taking him to visit the elderly and serving them with scones and jam.

Now he is carrying on the family tradition by inviting 500 OAPs to Meadowbank Stadium.

The 19-year-old from Davidson's Mains, who supplies his SuperJam to major supermarkets, planned the October 1 event to feature in Older People's Week.

The event will also feature a massive "knitathon" with guests helping knit blankets for a children's hospital in India, live music, exercise classes – and of course plenty of tea and scones.

It is one of 100 similar SuperJam tea parties taking place around the country. Fraser started holding the parties for the elderly earlier this year, and his monthly events now attract around 80 people.

Fraser, who supplies Waitrose, Tesco and Morrisons with his jam, said: "I've been absolutely overwhelmed by how much support I've had, and how much the tea parties have captured people's imaginations.

"When I was younger, my gran used to make scones and homemade jam and take them to elderly people in the area. My brother and I would come and play musical instruments. It was always just something we did. But I realised there's a lot of older people who live alone, and find it difficult to get out and meet people.

"I wanted to do something special to mark Older People's Week. We've also arranged for volunteers to help get everyone knitting. We hope to make thousands of squares for a charity in India."

John Lewis has donated hundreds of sets of knitting needles and wool, while Waitrose is providing the food. Folk, jazz and acoustic bands will play, and every participant will receive a free goodie bag. The city council and charity Contact the Elderly are also supporting the event.

Val Crookston, Scotland's executive officer for Contact the Elderly, said: "We want to make lots of people aware of the isolation amongst older people.

"We hope this event will inspire many more people to get involved and help reach those most isolated and lonely.

"The older people we help tell us that they feel more confident as a result of coming out with us.

"An elderly gentleman once told me he had finally found a reason to carry on living after he joined a group – that's how much of a difference these events make."