COVID HERO
BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL FOR HULL SHOP MANAGER WHO MAKES SURE NO ONE GOES HUNGRY
A FORMER shelf-stacker turned supermarket manager has been awarded a top award for going above and beyond to serve her community during the pandemic.
Linda Carrington, 56, from Hull, was among the recipients of a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2020 New Year Honours List.
The 56-year-old and her team at Spar took to their posts as key workers and delivered groceries to people having to shield and unable to leave their homes.
Speaking of her efforts, Linda said: “I was actually taking groceries to their door. We would pay for their shopping ourselves and then customers would transfer over the money back - it is quite trusting.”
“It’s just being there for each other, it was quite frightening in the beginning, nobody really knew what to do so we just kept ourselves and our customers safe.”
Her heroic efforts didn’t go unnoticed after she was nominated for BEM by staff at Spar Laceby Lodge, Grimbsy, where she is the store manager.
Linda’s hours of dedication since March when the first lockdown was announced has touched the hearts of hundreds of elderly people who she helped.
Going above and beyond for Linda was nothing more than what people expect of her.
“I felt like when coronavirus struck, I was needed, she said.
“People were frightened, it was about protecting people and getting food to people who are vulnerable and wouldn’t come out of the house.”
Helping is all that the hard worker has ever known.
Before the pandemic, Linda says she has dedicated around 25 years to helping those in need across the city.
She would spend days of her free time each week to feed the homeless.
She added: “It’s just what I’ve always done. We went out and bought a water urn for making pot noodles, coffees and hot chocolates – and just took it out to the people who needed it.
You give them something so small and they are so grateful and it just makes you want to do it even more.”
Although, it was when the coronavirus pandemic hit that Linda was needed more than ever.
“We were making sure that they got the essentials. One of my customers said they wouldn’t have actually known what to do if we hadn’t have helped them out because they had no family or anything living near them.
They wouldn’t have eaten if we didn’t deliver, they wouldn’t have come out and they wouldn’t have had any food.
“Our priority was to make sure everybody had food.”
Not only did Linda crucially deliver food to doorsteps, but she realised the importance of spending five or ten minutes talking to someone who had not been out of the house for weeks, sometimes months.
She said: “A lot of people were lonely. You would have to chat to them and try to be normal, obviously with social distancing.
“You could see that a lot of the elderly people are scared, and I understand that. It was just like reassurance.
“I myself had a few shaky moments, but I would never say I was frightened, I just wanted to make sure the people that we were helping felt comfortable.”
Despite her amazing efforts, Linda still cannot believe she is the recipient of a British Empire Medal.
She said: “I think I’m still numb, I don’t think it has really sunk in. It wasn’t something that I expected, it’s just something I love doing and I didn’t think I would get recognised for it.
“My family and friends are absolutely over the moon. My husband actually said it’s about time you get recognised because you have been doing it for a lot of years.
“It wasn’t about me though, it was about helping other people. Quite a few of my customers are aware of it now, the phone at work hasn’t stopped.
“My husband said I don’t think you actually realise what you have been awarded, but I’m just me.”