Rotarians say farewell toTom

A clergyman who is leaving Paisley over fears of the effects of Brexit was presented with a gift that will remind him of Scotland.

Rev Dr Tom Wilson has been a priest at Holy Trinity & St Barnabas Church since 2012, and is leaving for a new charge in the South of France.

Dr Wilson, who is Canadian, needs a visa to work here, and red tape saw the 59-year-old and his wife Dawn Cornelio start the move.

The priest is a former president of Paisley Callants Rotary Club, and he and Mrs Wilson were presented with a quaich by the current president, Tej Singh.

Mr Singh said:“We wanted to give them something with a Scottish touch, so all of the members came up with the idea of a pewter quaich.”

The club is very sorry to see the Wilsons go, he added.

“They are very good people and we will miss them,”Mr Singh said.

A native of Guelph, near Ontario, Dr Wilson was brought up in the church and worked in various jobs, including retail, before becoming a clergyman at the age of 38.

It was to gain experience of the wider church that brought Dr Wilson to Paisley.

Dr Wilson told the Paisley Daily Express that he thought Paisley looked like“a nice town”when he first set eyes on it in 2012.

“It has some of the friendliest people in the world,”he said.

“In Canada I also worked as a care home chaplain, and I’d met so many Scots who had emigrated to Canada in the 50s and 60s, and they were so friendly. “So that was one of the reasons I came. “People don’t realise how friendly the Scots can be. Often they are portrayed as dour, but they are incredibly friendly.

“They smile at you going down the street.”