Isabella dies weeks after turning 106

CITY pensioner Isabella Blyth has passed away, just a few weeks after celebrating her 106th birthday.

Miss Blyth, from Gorgie, was described by family as "an amazing character" who attributed her long life to her abstinence.

She was born in 1904 in Gorgie to John and Janet Blyth and was christened in Tolbooth Parish Church, of which she is still a member.

She went to Tynecastle school and described her childhood as "happy and healthy", up until the outbreak of war in 1914, when her father was called up to fight. When his recruiting agent discovered he could drive - a rare skill in 1914 - he was sent to the Army Service Corps to drive trucks in France and Belgium.

After she finished school she took a job as a shorthand typist at North British Distilleries, a job she held for 35 years.

Miss Blyth took up residence at Cairn Housing Association's Jubilee Court in Polwarth Terrace in 1994, before moving to the Jubilee House Care Home for the past two years. She passed away peacefully at the home on September 14.

A funeral service will be held at Mortonhall Crematorium on Thursday, October 7, at 12.30pm, to which all friends are invited.