At the start of each new Parliamentary session in Scotland there is an official Opening Ceremony.
This year, the sixth session was opened by Her Majesty the Queen, on Saturday 2nd October.
As part of the Opening Ceremony MSPs were asked to nominate Local Heroes from their constituency or region in recognition of the important contribution they make to the lives of other people living in Scotland, and who have made an extraordinary contribution during the pandemic to help the most vulnerable and keep communities together.
Douglas Ross MSP nominated Carol Brown, a mum from Dallas, who made hundreds of free scrubs and masks for front line medical staff in Moray whilst she was not able to work due to the lockdown imposed as a result of the covid-19 restrictions.
She also sold Christmas masks and raised over £200 for MFR Cash for Kids.
Allied to all this, Carol took the contact details of some of her local customers from Chimes, on the High Street in Forres and phoned them for a chat during lockdown, to see that they were okay as they lived alone.
Douglas said:
“I was delighted to nominate Carol as my ‘local hero’.
“Whilst at home on furlough from her work as a Manager of a local café in Forres, she made hundreds of masks and scrubs for front line Medical and Care staff, sold Christmas masks for MFR Cash for Kids and kept contact with some of her isolated elderly customers.
“She also sought the assistance of the community in cutting out the shapes on material, which then allowed her to focus on the sewing element of their production.
“During lockdown many front line Medical and Care staff, benefitted from Carol’s free creations and I know that those who received regular phone calls from her were delighted with the time she gave up to keep in touch with them.
“This is why I had no hesitation in nominating Carol as my local hero and I was delighted to meet with her and her husband Michael at the Parliament when The Queen officially opened this new session of Parliament.”
Carol Brown said:
“I started making face masks when the Scottish Government said we might need to start wearing them as I thought we might need more.
“A nurse in the village asked personally for PPE so I made her some and I made 24 face masks for a businessman who needed some for his company.
“I got a pattern from a friend and made one mask as a sample.
“I managed to persuade some other people to do the cutting for me, so I could focus on sewing.
“The event at the Scottish Parliament was just wonderful and it was brilliant to have got the opportunity to have had a few words with Prince Charles.”
