Housing and care provider Bield is supporting Scottish Housing Day by underlining how it endorses its own “year round ethos”.

Bield developed its “Free To Be” philosophy which promotes people making their own choices about how they live their lives when they rebranded five years ago.

This strapline has resulted in a host of ‘feel good’ stories originating from Bield developments in the past year, including a 94-year-old who reignited a childhood passion for table tennis and a 75-year-old who gained his pilot’s licence.

Scottish Housing Day aims to let people know more the work done to support tenants as well as showcasing the variety of different housing options available to people.

Kathy Crombie, communications and marketing manager at Bield, said: “We’re really proud of our ‘Free To Be’ mantra and it’s great that the Scottish Housing Day is showcasing stories highlighting that a house is more than bricks and mortar, it’s about the people that live in them.

“It’s been amazing to read the many wonderful stories from our tenants over the past year.”

Joan James, 94, was inspired to pick up a table tennis bat once again when her local club visited the Bield retirement housing development where she lives near Haddington, East Lothian.

After playing for entertainment in the days before TV, she has rekindled her love for the sport and now competes in matches against her fellow tenants.

While 75-year-old Roddy Kyle, from Fife, has picked up his pilot’s licence some 60 years after first getting into a cockpit.

Roddy got his first taste of life in the skies back in 1958, when he was just 16, but has now become fully fledged pensioner pilot.

Kathy added: “Roddy, with his new pilot’s license is an incredible feat and Joan’s renewed passion for Table Tennis, which she played in her childhood, are just two of the numerous tales we love hearing about from our developments across the country.”

“We’re committed to providing the highest quality housing which helps enrich the lives of the people who live in them, so when we hear stories like these, it really lets us know that we’re doing things the right way.

“The Scottish Housing Day helps show people the limitless opportunities housing organisations like ourselves can offer.

“After creating the ‘Free To Be’ ethos five years ago, it’s great that there is now an annual day which promotes a similar philosophy to an even wider audience.”