Church official Irene given royal approval
Gran scoops Queen’s award for lockdown work
A church officer from Ayr scooped a Royal award for her dedication to Christian services.
Irene Bartholomew, 71, office administrator at Ayr St Columba Church, was awarded a ‘Maundy money’ gift at a special ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on Maundy Thursday.
The annual Royal Maundy service, which dates back to the 13th century, sees the Queen offering coins to senior citizens to recognise their service to the church or community.
This year, 96 men and 96 women were awarded Maundy money - one for each of the years the Queen has been alive, ahead of her 96th birthday on Thursday, April 21.
Grandmother-of-two Irene, who joined Ayr St Columba in 1983 and has worked in the office for 21 years, was presented with two leather purses, one red and one white, containing the coins.
The red purse contained a £5 coin and a 50p coin portraying the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and the white purse contained Maundy money to the value of 96p.
Irene said: “My breath was taken away when I got the letter to say. I don’t know who nominated me or for what, you never know that kind of thing, but the Almoner said it was for Christian services. I suspect mine is for things I had done during lockdown.
“I had written diaries in the first year of lockdown. I tried to make it motivational and keep folks’ spirits up.
“Our church office is quite a hub of people who come and go.
“Our activities weren’t on, so it was important to keep people connected in whatever way we could.
“We made cards and sent them out and
I write to some of the housebound people every week. To me, it’s just what I should have been doing - I didn’t think anything I was doing was exceptional.”
Irene also runs a seniors keep-fit class, that anyone from the community can join in, where she leads the group through exercises, relaxation and a cup of tea and a natter at the end.
Sadly, Queen Elizabeth was unable to attend Thursday’s event, due to scaling back her public appearances, but Prince Charles stepped in to present seniors with their awards.
Irene said: “It was a shame that The Queen wasn’t able to be there.
“That would’ve really been the icing on the cake. But Prince Charles was very charming and spoke to everybody.
“It was super. The pageantry was just amazing, and Windsor is a lovely place.”