Spend the summer helping charity
Kenneth Speirs
A Paisley man has been invested with a high honour by the Italian Government.
As revealed in the Paisley Daily Express on Tuesday, 84-year-old former fish and chip shop owner Luigi Pierotti was singled out by Italy for his work with the Italian community in the town and beyond.
And he has now been invested with the Order of the Star of Italy – an honour that gives him the honorary title Don.
Mr Pierotti’s investiture took place this week at the Italian consulate in Edinburgh, a ceremony that was attended by his proud family.
Mr Pierotti said: “The ambassador has given me the medal. “And I was thrilled. “I didn’t do any of this for the honour but to be recognised was nice. “It was quite a night.” Born a Scotsman of Italian parentage in Barrhead, the fatherof-six learned Italian so that he could help the many people from Italy who for generations have lived in Paisley and the West of Scotland, as well as to honour his family’s roots in Barga, Tuscany.
Mr Pierotti was born into The Cecil fish and chip shop family in Paisley’s Moncrieff Street, and went to St Mirin’s Academy.
But when he was 15 he had to leave school and help run the family business after his father took ill.
Following a spell in the army, business began to boom and Mr Pierotti and his brothers ran various businesses in Paisley and Erskine.
He was also involved in the Italian Club, in Glasgow, serving on the committee and helping the Italian community in general.
In the 1980s, Mr Pierotti was involved in setting up Italian language classes at Paisley Grammar School.
This continued for many years, along with his work helping the less fortunate, such as those who attend the soup kitchen at Holy Trinity and St Barnabas’ Church, in St James’ Place. A lifeline service is appealing for kind Express readers to help at charity events.
Renfrewshire Carers is on mission to do as much fundraising as possible this summer.
A spokesperson from the charity said: “In order to try and maximise our fundraising potential and to raise the profile of the centre we are looking to attend as many of the local gala days as we can.
“We need help by way of donations for our tombola stall and the use of a gazebo for Lilias Day.
“Please let us know if you can help on any of the days.”
So far, volunteers have signed up for Lilias Gala Day on June, 2, Renfrew Gala Day on June, 3, Barshaw Gala Day on June 23, Weave Festival and Sma’ Shot Day on July, 7 and Johnstone Gala Day on August, 26.
Renfrewshire Carers is a voluntary organisation that provides a range of high quality services and support to unpaid carers living in Renfrewshire.
To help with their fundraising efforts visit www.renfrewshirecarers. org.uk or call 0141 8873643.