Brechin man says Windsor experience hard to beat

Tayside resident Scott Ross was among the lucky 1,200 guests invited into the grounds of Windsor Castle for the royal wedding, and described his day as a “once in a lifetime experience”.

The 29-year-old from Brechin is a warrant officer with the Air Training Corps. Having joined at 13, he has worked his way up the ranks to be Officer Commanding 2422 Squadron in Arbroath, and received the Lord Lieutenant’s Certificate for Meritorious Service in 2017.

Mr Ross said the most enjoyable part of the day was standing within a few yards of the royals and celebrity guests – including David and Victoria Beckham, George and Amal Clooney and James Blunt – as they arrived at St George’s Chapel in the morning.

He said: “It’s the most memorable experience I will ever have.

“I don’t know if anything will ever top it.

“Being there made me feel like I am doing something right, that I am being recognised by someone outwith the organisation, with the lord lieutenant recognising the work we put in.”

Also invited into the castle grounds was Morag McKenzie, a stalwart of Arbroath Pipe Band and Arbroath’s Citizen of the Year in 2017. She has been part of the pipe band for 44 years and has been teaching bagpipes for over 30 of these years.

Ms McKenzie has been working in the voluntary sector in Angus for 15 years and currently works for the Learning Tree Partnership.

She said: “I felt very privileged to have been asked through my long-term commitment to teaching pipes for Arbroath Pipe Band and the work I do for the Learning Tree Partnership, which is a relatively new charity which supports people with a learning disability to get skills and experience in customer service.

“It was also an honour to tell people about the ‘Red Lichtie’ tartan I wore and it’s relevance to Arbroath,” she added.