Moray fostering couple Joyce and Ronnie Loveland receive MBEs
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A MORAY couple who have fostered more than 100 children over a 42-year spell have received their MBEs.
Joyce and Ronnie Loveland, from Mosstodloch, were named in the Queen's New Year's Honours List for services to fostering.
The couple received their MBEs from Moray's Lord Lieutenant Seymour Monro on Sunday, November 28, at a small gathering with their friends and family.
Joyce said: "We were asked if we wanted to hang on and meet the Queen but with Covid-19 we weren't sure when it would be and we didn't want to wait too long.
"So we decided just to have a quiet do in Moray. We would have liked more folk, but we managed 16 people, including friends, family and foster kids.
"It was a brilliant day. Seymour and his wife were lovely and very genuine, we spent a good while with them and Roddy Burns (Moray Council CEO) and his wife, who were lovely as well."
Joyce and Ronnie have been married since 1967 and started fostering 12 years later. Joyce said she has "lost count" of the number of children they have looked after.
Even today, the couple have two young ones in their Mosstodloch home – one six months old and the other two years old.
But they still weren't anticipating receiving any awards for their efforts. Joyce added: "We weren't expecting anything like an MBE.
"In fact, when the guy from Buckingham Palace called we hung up thinking it was a scam.
"We've been fostering for many years and have never looked back. We're still enjoying it so we'll carry on until we don't.
"It's sad when the children leave but we get a lot out of it and make their lives a bit better, we hope.
"To be honest, I think I'll be pushing a zimmerframe in one hand and a pram in the other."
On top of the foster kids, Joyce and Ronnie have four children of their own, 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
They also adopted a pair of twin girls who first came to them as nine-week-old babies.
Deline remains in Mosstodloch, while Dorothy, who lives in Elgin, is a teacher at Buckie High School.
Last year the pair were given a long service award by the Moray Placement Services.
