Sale woman raises Royal eyebrows

Eileen Keeling, 73, has worked as a volunteer teaching assistant at Timperley's Pictor School over the past 25 years helping children with special educational needs.

Eileen said: "Meeting the Queen on November 11, was the second biggest day of my life, my first being when I married my husband Geoffrey in August 1975.

"I am a big fan of the Royals and when I met her she asked me how long I had worked with special needs children and when I told her that I had volunteered for 24 years, there was a look of surprise on her face and she said the work I had done was very good."

Her proud family including husband Geoffrey, son Michael and daughter-in-law Lianne watched as she received the award.

Eileen said prior to working at Pictor she had worked as a baker/confectioner in Liverpool and at a building society, before deciding she needed a change in career direction.

She explained: "At the time I was doing a course at South Trafford College in community care and part of it meant I had to work at Pictor, at the old site on Harboro Road, for a few weeks, but here I am nearly 25 years later."

Eileen’s role involved arriving early to help to set up the classroom, greeting the children, and providing them with individual and small group support.

An excellent cook, she also took a lead with cookery activities, helped children in the hydrotherapy pool and provided support on outings and events.

Despite recently retiring, Eileen, who lives in Sale, still plans to help out at the school, including at its Christmas fair.

She said she was delighted to receive the recognition in a job in which she reckons she gets out every bit as much as she put in.

She added: "When you see a children who have never walked working with the staff and five years later they are up and walking and then those pupils with working with the speech therapists to overcome language difficulties, it's all very, very rewarding."