A Resilient Bunch

Iain Ferguson

However you were affected by the Covid -19 lockdown, many groups of volunteers, as well as official bodies including The Highland Council, made sure vital food and medical supplies reached the people who needed them.

Several businesses also helped by supplying foodstuffs of all kinds, free of charge, so that parcels could be made up and delivered without interruption.

While the situation was serious, especially for those who were vulnerable and shielding due to other illnesses, it was not without a few laughs for those volunteering to undertake this crucial work.

One thing in particular leading to a bit of hilarity were sudden and unexpected excesses of certain foodstuffs. Due to Covid restrictions, supermarket donors themselves often didn’t know what was going to arrive from their distribution depots.

This led to a vast influx of jars of pickled beetroot, which

suddenly appeared widely in the food packages. As lockdown hit just around Easter, parcels also featured chocolate bunnies and eggs, all perfectly edible and in date, but a bit out of season.

There was also a pasta mountain to be handed out - luckily pasta featured in last month’s Lochaber Life recipe - and all kinds of fresh fruit. Flowers and plants also appeared in abundance. As someone commented: ‘Never were so many banana loafs baked in such a short time.’

Volunteer groups worked tirelessly making sure each community was kept supplied. However, when restrictions eased a little, Morrisons in Fort William organised a ‘thank you’ afternoon tea for them in their cafe, where they came together for a celebration and, of course, to discuss their work.

Not delivering food, but equally important friendship

and contact, Ewen’s Room launched a new ‘EwenMe’ befriending service matching volunteers to people who would welcome a regular phone chat to combat loneliness and social isolation.

The Ardnamurchan Peninsula based charity also continued its seven day a week free helpline service 08006 893317 and textline service on 07537 431637. The weekly Open Doors sessions, which were run in Strontian and Acharacle, also continued online via zoom meetings.

A big thank you is due from all of us to the ‘resilience bunch’ who kept going for the good of others.

Michael J Kennedy Painters & Decorators For High Quality Workmanship

Ames Taping, Coving, Airless Spray, New Builds Commercial, Industrial & Domestic

53 Castle Dr, Lochyside, Fort William Mob 0780 335 7221 Tel 01397 703893 Established 1988

Lochaber

Due to Covid’19 the Annual General Meeting of Lochaber Citizens Advice Bureau – due to take place on Tuesday 22nd September has been postponed. Depending on Government Legislation; to be confi rmed to take place on Tuesday 24th November’20. TEXT – 07714146885, TELEPHONE 01397 705311 DURING OPENING HOURS, EMAIL –

adviser@lochabercab.casonline.org.uk

Tails of Lochaber - a tale of inspiration

Eilidh Anderson recently set up her own business ‘Tails of Lochaber’, offering dog walking and pet photography. Starting out on a new venture is a daunting task for anyone, but for Eilidh it also marked a tremendous personal achievement. Last May she was diagnosed with autism, which actually came as a relief to her, saying that after years of treatment for mental illness, she finally understood why her brain was the way it was. She said: ‘I spent most of my life thinking I couldn’t do anything well, that I wasn’t as good as all my peers and I wouldn’t make much of my life. My diagnosis helped me understand the things I found difficult, but it also highlighted the things I was very good at, including working with animals, setting up and organising a business and my creativity.’ Animals also played a big role in Eilidh’s inspiration, since rescuing her dog ‘Heidi’ who had been starved and neglected in her former home, in 2014. Eilidh, who had just been discharged from a mental health unit, was barely eating and was very underweight, made an immediate connection with her. ‘Seeing the damage starvation had done to her body made me see what I had done to my own,’ said Eilidh. ‘From then on, I started to recover, slowly

but surely, with the help of my constant companion.’ Finally receiving her diagnosis in 2019, despite suggesting it herself when she was just 14, seven months later she turned her life around, setting up Tails of Lochaber, which she loves. She said: ‘Being autistic makes day-to-day things tricky, but there are ways to manage them. Being outdoors and with animals is one of mine. I hope this will inspire more people to be positive and not hold back on doing what they are good at.’