Enniskillen resident Jill Wilkins joined the Killyhevlin Health Club and Spa in October 2016. One year on, she remains an enthusiastic Club member whose morning visits are now part of her daily routine:
“I leave home at 8.30a.m. and drive to Chanterhill where I post the newspaper through my mum and dad’s letterbox then go on to Killyhevlin. My father, who has just turned 91, worked for BT but he had a pass to use the swimming pool at Enniskillen High school where he taught my brother and me to swim. We also swam in Lough Erne but the water was much colder than the Killyhevlin pool!”
Jill’s Off Peak Spa membership allows her access to the swimming pool area from Sunday to Thursday. She can take part in Aqua aerobics and yoga classes and benefits from three complimentary treatments worth £40 each in the Spa. All this for just £37.50 per month.
Jill enjoys the sauna, the indoor jacuzzi and the sparkling, newly tiled steam room. However she has one very favourite spot. “After my swim in the pool, I make straight for the outdoor hot-tub with its magnificent view over Upper Lough Erne. Since I regard this as Me Time I do take my time. I have made many friends since I joined the club and we engage in a good deal of changing room chat.” Friendly and interested in other people, Jill is a cheery conversationalist and a sympathetic listener. She leaves the health club around 11a.m. in time for a comforting cup of coffee and in the afternoon she takes her Border Collie Brook for a long walk.
Tall, trim and fit, Jill has always loved the outdoor life. Her father kept a boat on the lake and organised day trips to the islands where the family enjoyed barbecue picnics. As a young girl she rode ponies and took part in show jumping competitions. When she left school Jill worked as a secretary at Kent Plastics and at the Cooper Technical Components factory in Enniskillen. Having trained in childcare and education she spent 13 years as a special needs supervisor in Ballinamallard Primary school before retiring in 2014. Mother of four, her grown up children have now flown the nest.
The Killyhevlin hotel has long associations for Jill. “During the 1970s and 80s my friends and I socialised at the Killy; that was the place to go. Over the years I have attended weddings and parties at the hotel and we recently celebrated my Mum’s 80th birthday there with afternoon tea.” Jill feels her current Spa membership is the icing on the cake.
We wish Jill and all our Health Club members a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas and look forward to welcoming new friends and families in 2018.
For full Killyhevlin Health Club rates visit www.killyhevlin.com/health-club/membership or call 02866321200