FOR the last 99 years - the centenary falls in 2016 - Erskine (motto: Proud to Care) has done a first-rate job in looking after ex-servicemen and servicewomen. It has become famous in the process.
Yesterday, its fame extended in a different direction, thanks to its efforts last year to recreate the Commonwealth Games in its homes. Residents were encouraged to get active by means of various sports, such as basketball and wheelchair weightlifting. Each home had its own competition, and of course it all got very competitive. Erskine's imagination knew no bounds: a torch was ferried from Edinburgh to Glasgow, and there were opening and closing ceremonies. One veteran of 98 was even inspired to get back into cycling.
Judy Murray, presenting Erskine with an award and £2,000 for running the best sports project at this year's National Lottery Awards, spoke for many when she praised the thinking behind the "genius" idea. Though many of the residents were "quite immobile", they were still made to feel part of something valuable. Disability and old age are not necessarily barriers to meaningful achievement. The Games idea is part of the diligent, ongoing care of ex-service personnel at Erskine and other institutions, all of it by definition done outwith the public gaze. Those who have served their country in one capacity or another deserve no less.
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