Fresh from her latest performance, Scotty
Day is still glowing. She’s in the cast of the
Somerset Follies, a musical and comedy
revue put on every spring by—and for—the
residents of Somerset House in Victoria, British
Columbia. “I sing in a chorus and do a couple
of skits and generally make a fool of myself,”
Scotty says, chuckling.
Scotty—her real name is Daffodil—
enthusiastically participates in a host of group
activities, including regular jaunts to take in a
play or musical in Vancouver via the residence’s
26-seater bus. “We’re quite an active lot,” says
the Scottish-born 84-year-old.
Scotty moved to Somerset House at age 73
with her now late husband, and she’s glad they
made the move when they did. “It was good
to get settled first, before being on my own,”
she says. When her husband passed away
five years later, Scotty received an outpouring
of support from her community of friends
at the retirement residence. “Since a lot of
people here had already gone through losing
a partner, they understood how I felt.” Fellow
residents and staff provided an ongoing source
of comfort that helped ease her through the
difficult time.
Now in a one-bedroom suite, having
downsized from a two-bedroom unit, Scotty still
has plenty of room to display her furnishings
and objets d’art collected while living and
travelling throughout various countries around
the world. (Her husband was a chemical
engineer with a large multinational corporation.)
She’ll proudly show you her gleaming rosewood
furniture from Hong Kong, delicate scrolls from
Malaysia, paintings from China, wooden carvings
from Peru, bronze statues from India and an
exquisite jug from Tibet.
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Somerset House
has spectacular views of the water and the cliffs
of James Bay, where cruise ships stop regularly.
Scotty takes cruises herself; two years ago, she
and eight fellow residents had the time of their
lives touring the Hawaiian Islands. “We’re always
excited to go away,” Scotty says. “But without
exception, when we return, we always say, ‘It’s so
good to be home!’”
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