Lochaber lockdown Legends: Spean’s Liam and Marianne
The family of a young Spean Bridge couple has nominated them to be our Lochaber Lockdown Legends this week and when readers learn what Liam and Marianne FraserStewart have been doing to support their local community during the coronavirus emergency since jetting home from the United States a few weeks ago, we are sure they will agree they deserve the accolade.
Until very recently, Liam and Marianne were working as resident musicians in Disney Springs in Florida, but had to return home early due to the coronavirus outbreak.
But despite a tiring last-minute transatlantic flight and cross-country journey, they both threw themselves into community volunteering to ensure the vulnerable residents of the village and surrounding area had someone to turn to.
The nomination came from Marianne’s mum, Mary Fraser, together with Diane Falconer (sister) and her family (husband Barry, daughter Brooke and son Layton), Lorraine Fraser (sister) and her family (partner Scott, daughter Kayla and son Xander). Mary told the Lochaber Times: ‘When they got home, they moved in with me so they could keep their cottage free for any front line workers that may have required it.
‘They have set up the Spean Bridge Community COVID-19 Support page on Facebook and have been offering their time and compassion to anyone who contacts them, enlisting a string of volunteers to help.’
Liam and Marianne have now been in phone contact with every single person, of a certain age and those who should be shielding, in the local areas of Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge, Achnacarry and areas in between – approximately 120 folk in all.
They have been visiting supermarkets, collecting prescriptions, are co-ordinating and delivering free essential food packages and have organised the purchase and delivery of pulse oximeters to households across the area – even stretching to Fort Augustus when someone was in need.
They have also set up a temporary foodbank pick-up point so locals can avoid travelling into Fort William to donate to the Lochaber Foodbank.
And if all that was not enough, Liam and Marianne have also given their time and talents to perform a Facebook Live Covid Ceilidh from their front garden raising £1,600plus for Lochaber Foodbank.
Mary added: ‘We think they are amazing and that their kindness and tireless efforts deserve some recognition, even though they would never ask for or expect this!’
Marianne told the Lochaber Times this week it had been a mad scramble to get home from the US, but that she and husband Liam, who are both in their 20s, were glad to be back in Lochaber.
‘We were supposed to be staying until the end of the summer. When the manager of the place we were staying said we all had to leave there was a scramble to get flights home.
‘We were just pleased to get back and able to do what we could to help out in our local community,’ added Marianne, who along with Liam brushed off the jet lag to organise community support only two days after getting home.
After setting up a local community support group they were joined by dozens of other local residents wanting to offer their volunteering services.
‘It’s been amazing to see how the community has really rallied together to help each other out.
‘A lot of positives are emerging from a very strange and worrying situation.’