News
The Duchess spends a day in Hull
7th February 2006
The Duchess of Cornwall made her first official visit to Kingston Upon Hull today, and spent her day meeting charity fundraisers, visiting a health centre for the elderly and opening a new dairy for an award-winning cheese-maker.
First, The Duchess visited the Centre for Metabolic Bone Disease at Hull Royal Infirmary.
The Duchess praised the work of local charity Osprey, who raised an incredible £700,000 to buy bone scanners for the centre.
Osprey, which stands for Osteoporosis Research in East Yorkshire, raised the money to buy vital equipment, including bone scanners for the research activities of the medical and scientific team at the centre for Metabolic Bone Disease at Hull Royal Infirmary.
The Duchess has been President of the National Osteoporosis Society since 2001, and was Patron between 1997 and 2001.
At the centre, she chatted to people being treated for osteoporosis and told them how the “devastating disease” had affected her own family.
She told invited guests: “I became involved with osteoporosis after my mother and grandmother both died as a result of this devastating disease.
“Then, only 11 years ago, osteoporosis was seldom discussed, rarely diagnosed and usually attributed to old women with so-called Dowager's Humps.“Huge strides have been made since that but we still have a long way to go.”
The Duchess also spoke about her mother to 74-year-old patient Betty Upton, from Bridlington. She said: “She had it for 20 years. They couldn‘t do anything about it then. You‘re much better looked after now.”
The Duchess met charity workers, including Osprey Patron Pauline Prescott, the wife of Deputy Prime Minister The Rt Hon John Prescott.
The centre is one of the best equipped and most active in the UK dealing with over 8000 patients a year.
The centre, a joint development between the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Hull, has an international reputation for research into the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
The Duchess later visited the nearby Healthy Living Centre, run by Age Concern, which provides facilities, activities and services for the older community. The Prince of Wales is Patron of Age Concern.
She was greeted by 83-year-old fundraiser Jean Bishop, who was dressed as a bumblebee. Jean has raised over £50,000 for Age Concern Hull since she began collecting in 2000.
The Duchess joked with Mrs Bishop and waiting photographers, and put a donation into her Age Concern collection tin.
Later, Mrs Bishop said: “She was really down to earth. I could have stood and talked to her for ages.”
The Duchess then toured the centre, meeting dozens of staff, volunteers and visitors in the canteen, shop and fitness centre.
The centre, which opened in 2002, provides a wide range of services and activities for older people including line and tap dancing, art and computer classes and yoga.
The Duchess was treated to a dance performance, and clapped along to Tony Christie's (Is This The Way To) Amarillo during one routine.
Finally, The Duchess opened a new dairy for award-winning cheese-makers at Lowna Dairy, Raywell.
The cheese-makers, Tom and Tricia Wallis use goat milk to make award-winning cheeses, ice creams, yoghurts and sorbets.
The Duchess tasted the ice cream which is made on site before being introduced to some of the 60 goats which are fed on locally grown meadow hay and cereals to eliminate commercial additives and ensure the highest quality of milk.
The Prince of Wales is Patron of the Specialist Cheese-makers Association.