Just rewards for 2014

Marilyn Waterman, 60, of Silver Birch Grove, has been volunteering at Earlswood retirement accommodation in Wyke Lane for more than seven years, and will be rewarded with a British Empire Medal this spring.

Along with her sister, Chris Stead, Marilyn helps cook lunches and organise bingo sessions at the complex, and said she was thrilled to find out she was being recognised.

She said: “There is always such a buzz about the place when we come in – people are always talking and catching up, and it’s the most wonderful feeling to know that you have helped someone.

“I think staying social is vitally important as you get older, so it is a very rewarding thing to do, so it is lovely to get a pat on the back for this – but it is something me and Chris both just love doing.

“This award is also for Chris, and I hope she wins one next year.”

Spen had another name in the honours, as Simon Pilling, West Yorkshire’s Birkenshaw-based chief fire officer was also announced on the list, to receive a Queen’s Fire Service Medal.

Read the full story in Friday’s Spenborough Guardian.