1 week Ago By [email protected] (Alan Beresford)
A charity golf day has seen a handed a four-figure boost. The annual Red Lion Tavern golf gathering at Maverston Golf Club saw a grand total of £2313 raised. On hand to present the cheque was the pub’s manager Fiona Steedman.
The firm’s Operations Director Callum Russell described how an incident at the Red Lion’s sister hotel, the Gordon Arms in the village, inspired the destination of this year’s golf day proceeds. He said: “Our sister hotel had a fire in February and they [the Fochabers on-call firefighters] were brilliant. “They managed to get in and keep the fire at bay in the kitchen, stopping it spreading any further.
“We were closed for six weeks due to the fire damage but it could’ve been a whole lot worse - everybody got out safe and sound, which is the main thing. “We wanted to say thanks for everything they did so we decided to donate the proceeds of this year’s golf day to Fochabers fire station.” A record total of 32 golfers turned out for the day although the weather came within an ace of scuppering the event.
Mr Russell continued: “It was misty, so the course was shut; I was standing there with 32 golfers ready to go and couldn't play golf, but luckily the guy was able to sort it out. “We waited for an hour, the guys had a few drinks in the clubhouse and then we set off. Everybody had a really good day in the end, we ended up having to call it a little bit early, I think three teams never got to finish because the mist came back in again but it was a great day.
” Local good causes are set to benefit from the cash. Fochabers fire station Watch Commander John Lawtie noted that they had been left stunned by the generosity of the Red Lion and the charity day supporters. He continued: “To be honest we were shocked when we heard how much we were getting, we’d no idea it’d be that much.
“It’s a really fantastic gesture for the Red Lion to make. We don’t go looking for gestures like this so we very much appreciate this. “We'll get in touch with the local community groups, the Scouts, Beavers and the local community groups and see if they need help.
“We're just grateful that we could do something positive to help them. Usually when we get called up somebody’s having a bad day, and it was a bad day for them. “Luckily we prevented it from getting worse and the crew did a great job.
So did the staff at the hotel, because everyone was out, we knew right away everyone was accounted for.” The on-call team at Fochabers fire station are always keen to hear from people interested in joining them, with Mr Lawtie pointing to the Gordon Arms fire as a good reason why people should give it serious consideration. “We're always looking for people, especially through the day, which is the main time.
“I think if people need to have a reason, I think this [the Gordon Arms fire] is a reason. It’s a local community business, if it had taken a bit longer, who knows? “It's very rewarding for us, we just do it to help our community. We all live in the same community, we want to help the community.
” For more information, message via the station’s Facebook page, pop along to the weekly training evenings from 7pm or visit Mr Lawtie added that the firefighters are looking forward to undertaking their annual Christmas charity collection, more details of which will be released nearer the time..
