The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Great-gran’s close shave is a real money-spinner
Haircut helps 88-year-old raise £4,000 for charity
A great-grandmother has told how she is getting used to life as a skinhead after losing her locks for charity.
May Smith, 88, got her head shaved in front of her church congregation in memory of her late husband John, who died of lung cancer 40 years ago.
Mrs Smith, an elder at St Andrew’s Church in Arbroath, said she has never forgotten the care he was given from Macmillan nurses and wanted to give something back, eventually raising more than £4,000.
She got in touch with minister Martin Fair to ask the church for support after seeing the advert for Macmillan’s Brave the Shave while watching TV.
Mrs Smith said: “When my husband was ill he came home from hospital to die at home and Macmillan nurses came in four times a day to give him his injections.
“I will always remember the care he was given before he passed away.
“At my stage of life there’s not a great deal I can do physically but when I saw the advert I thought ‘I can do this’. I’m overwhelmed with the response.
“When I registered I was asked to put down my fundraising target and I thought I would only manage £500.”
Mrs Smith was given the chop by fellow elder Noela Watson, who used to have her own salon.
And Mrs Smith said the skinhead look has led to her family members doing a double take.
“My family all think I am crazy but they still love me,” she said. “They all think I look like my younger brother Bill, who lives in Canada. There is certainly a resemblance.”
Mr Fair said Mrs Smith was “an inspiration”.
“She called and asked if she could speak to me and it did tweak my imagination,” he said.
“If I had made a list of 100 things that she was going to say then a head shave wouldn’t have been anywhere near it.
“I was taken aback at first but when she gave me her back story, it made perfect sense.”
Mrs Smith, who has six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, was previously a missionary in Kenya and was still volunteering at the church’s Havilah Project – which supports people with addictions – well into her eighties.
Grandson Craig Smith said he has never been prouder of her.
“She looks good as a skinhead,” he said.