TEA, cake and a lot of laughter marked a celebration of older people on Portland.

Charity Island Community Action threw a party to celebrate older people on the Isle as they marked a fantastic year of helping others.

The hall at IPACA’s Osprey Quay campus was filled with laughter and chatting as older people enjoyed an afternoon of tea and cakes and shared their memories of Portland.

There was a quiz and a raffle and ICA volunteers used a projector to display pictures from Portland in years gone by.

Students from IPACA’s new sixth form chatted to everyone and created special memory cards for the event featuring how different fashions, hairstyles and football teams had changed across the years.

Youngsters from the primary levels at the academy created a placemat for each VIP and there were so many that the walls were covered with bunting reading: ‘Happy Silver Sunday’.

The proceedings were begun by Portland Town Crier Stuart Cave, who had created a special cry for the occasion.

Friends Glenys Williams, 91, and Joan Thomas, 80, said the charity was ‘wonderful’ and they got to do all sorts of activities including doing gentle exercise classes, going shopping, going on outings to parties, cafes and to the ballet when it was in Dorchester recently.

Mrs Williams said: “We didn’t know what to expect to start with. When we got here and found it was a silver party we were so pleased and overwhelmed with all they were doing for us. I can’t praise them enough.”

She added that they were very lucky to have ICA on Portland and there was no need to be indoors as there were so many activities.

Mrs Thomas said she thought the party was a ‘lovely idea’ and praised the work that ICA did.

She added that she wouldn’t go out nearly as much without them.

In 2013 ICA supported older people on the island to enjoy 933 meals and provided 392 home visits, as well as completed 352 journeys in their volunteer car, helping older people to get to medical appointments, essential services and social occasions.

Chairman of ICA Kim Wilcocks said it was important to bring the community together, both young and old, and to celebrate the amazing lives of older people.

Head of the sixth form at IPACA Alison Winsborough said: “We are a community academy and the community is at the heart of what we do. It’s lovely to get the community in and be able to work with them.”

You can make a donation to ICA by visiting localgiving.com and searching for Island Community Action.