Author writing new book to raise funds

Aldo helps those who cared for his late wife

A St Andrew’s Hospice supporter has raised thousands of pounds for the charity thanks to the sale of two self-penned books.

Now Aldo Ferri is working on a third title to support the Airdrie hospice – in memory of his wife Lorraine, who was cared for there before sadly passing away in February 2010.

His book sales have raised £5600 to date.

And he also continues to support St Andrew’s as a member of its public reference group.

Aldo’s first two books are A Son of Sant Andrea and A New Dawn for Sant Andrea, both based around Italian immigration to Scotland were published in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

And the titles were inspired by a name that was close to the couple’s hearts.

Author Aldo explained: “We were married at St Andrew’s Church in Hamilton and found another of the same name while we were on our honeymoon.

“Lorraine was cared for at St Andrew’s Hospice and I was depute head at St Andrew’s Academy in Paisley, so the name seemed to be a feature in our lives.

“After I retired I was looking for something to do and started to write.

“I had done a dissertation on Italian immigration to Scotland so I had lots of material.

“I was trying to reflect the Scottish- Italian story – the first book is more historical and the second takes the story forward with the next generation.

“I decided to self-publish them and for any proceeds to go to the hospice.

“They have sold quite well and people have given a lot of encouragement. Raising money for the hospice is the motivation.

“I’m writing a third book just now which is a completely different story, and again all profits will go to the hospice.”

Aldo’s story features in the latest edition of the hospice’s Dove Tales magazine, in which he also speaks about his role on the hospice’s consultative group and his continuing fundraising.

Paying tribute to the staff at the hospice, Aldo told the Advertiser: “Lorraine was in and out of St Andrew’s hospice for four years.

“The staff there are so dedicated and were tremendous in looking after her.

“They became very much like a family for us and still are.

“For Lorraine’s last Christmas, I bought her a doll’s house with all the furniture, as she’d never had one before.

“And now in her memory, I donate a big doll’s house as a raffle prize at the hospice’s annual ball in her memory. The hospice is a big part of our lives and it’s such a wonderful place.

“I can pop in at any time and everybody – doctors, nurses, cleaners, volunteers in the shop – remembers you.”

Now he is looking forward to seeing how the hospice will look after its multi- million pound facelift and is delighted with the progress made so far.

He added of the current renovation project : “I have walked through the building at a development stage, as the members of the public reference group were consulted on things like how many single and multi-bed rooms to have.

“The new hospice is coming on and looks good, and it’s just a great place.”

Sadly missed Aldo with his beloved wife Lorraine

Author Aldo is working on his third book