FIRST birthday celebrations were served up at Kelty's Community Cafe last Tuesday.

Oor Wee Cafe – which meets every Tuesday lunchtime – marked its special anniversary with a party at its community centre base.

Linzi Forbes, who helped set up the initiative, said over 170 people turned up to mark the occasion.

"It was a mixture of people – there were a lot of new faces actually, some people we have never seen before as well as people who come regularly," she said.

"We had a cold buffet and we also had a free prize draw and we had a couple of birthday cakes too!"

With the help of its 13-strong team of volunteers, Oor Wee Cafe opens every Tuesday from 12pm until 2pm and offers a hot meal on a pay what you can basis and also has a clothes bank service.

"We have a lot of people who use it socially to get out of the house and come and meet people," added Linzi.

"We have staff from places who pop in and have their lunch. There is a care home that come most weeks and we have also had a few visits from Kelty nursery, we get a whole variety.

"There were quite a few hurdles to start with to get it going but it has been a success way beyond our expectations."

The volunteers found it difficult to get a venue for their Community Cafe plan but in the early summer of

last year the community centre became available and it has been a success story all the way.