Beryl’s a pearl in the Falkirk community

Beryl Northway was presented with the annual award, named after a Grangemouth man who went above and beyond the call of duty for the local community, which is given to people who go out of their way to make people’s lives better.

Beryl, who lives in Lochgreen Road, Falkirk, but is a member of Grangemouth’s St Mary’s Church, actually met and volunteered alongside the man who gave the memorial trophy its name.

She said: “I was just interested in Strathcarron Hospice when it first started up and became a day care volunteer and driver – which I did for over 20 years. I actually met Jimmy while I was volunteering.”

When Beryl thought she was getting a bit “long-in-the-tooth” for her volunteer driver role, she found other ways to help people, working at the Kirk of the Holy Rood’s soup and sandwich Friday events until they stopped running recently.

Beryl received her trophy and a certificate in a presentation at St Mary’s Church on Sunday night during a special service for Christian unity led by Reverend Tim Tunley, with representatives of other Grangemouth churches present,

Previous winners of the Jimmy Murphy Trophy include Jean Jackson, who worked with Grangemouth’s Community Care for over a decade and helped out at the weekly lunches for elderly people at Talbot House and last year’s winner Alice Hamilton, who has been making dresses for youngsters involved in Grangemouth Childrens Day for over 20 years.