HE stepped in to save it for the nation after it its collection of furniture and artwork was in danger of being lost forever.
Now, on the tenth anniversary of Prince Charles buying Dumfries House for £20 million, a special tea dance was held to mark the occasion.
The dances are held every three weeks as part of Dumfries House’s Integrated Health and Wellbeing programme as part of a partnership with the NHS which was was established in 2015. The estate, near Cumnock in Ayrshire, is used to offer people experiences that promote confidence and personal development and offers training in real-life skills to open up future employment opportunities. Yesterday, Barbara McClure, 75, from Stewarton danced with Dumfries House butler Nathan King, 17, from Sanquhar, Dumfries-shire, as part of the anniversary dance which had 120 guests.
Carolyn Paton, a dietician and co-ordinator of the Integrated Health and Wellbeing programme, said: “People may think health and Dumfries House may not form a natural link, but, once people see what we are doing here, they are keen to become involved. “We connect with experts who have the ability to think about a range of ways of improving people’s health, including complementary therapies.
“The range of initiatives run as part of the Integrated Health programme here at Dumfries House has grown quickly in the past two years, and the new health and wellbeing centre will allow us to broaden our offering. We will be able to deliver more to GPs who would like to refer patients to us for complementary therapies.” “The tea dance has been very successful, with around 120 people every three weeks. “We work to identify groups in the local area who would benefit from coming along, with the main aim to tackle the issue of loneliness among older people.
“There is an anticipation among those set to attend a forthcoming tea dance; they really look forward to it. Everyone will get dressed up for the occasion, which offers them an opportunity to be a part of Dumfries House estate and a really special environment.”
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