Honours trio all ‘delighted’

A NURSERY nurse and a charity boss are representing Dumfries and Galloway on the King’s New Year’s Honours List.

There’s a BEM for children’s nursery practitioner Kathleen Kaye, from Dalbeattie, in recognition of a career spanning over 51 years.

Known as Kate, the bubbly 77-year-old has cared for hundreds of tots over the years.

Yesterday she said: “I am in total disbelief; this sort of thing doesn’t happen to people like me. It’s just wonderful.

“I spent 51 years at the same nursery, Kelton Nursery, before it moved out of the church to near Threave Gardens. But this isn’t about me, this is for every wee child that came through the nursery, they all mean something to me, and I’ve made so many friends throughout my time there.

“I am the eldest of eight children, so that’s where my love of them comes from. The children really have made my life.”

Mum-of-three Kate still works part-time, two mornings a week, at Glenlochar Nursery in Crossmichael.

She added: “It all feels ethereal, it doesn’t feel real, but now I suppose one of the great perks of having a BEM means I can get married in Westminster Abbey so I might have to do something about that!”

Also celebrating is John MacMillan, from Kirkcudbrightshire, who has been recognised for his services to community development, sport and social enterprise.

He is the chief executive of the Eric Liddell Community charity in Edinburgh, which offers care and support for people living with dementia, a wellbeing programme for unpaid carers, and a community hub programme.

John was previously an associate inspector of education with HMIe and is a member of the Chartered Management Institute, the Institute of Fundraising, on the board of Disability Snowsport UK, and part of the Advisory Council for the Scotland China Education Network.

He is a former professional musician, ski instructor, basketball and football coach.

Meanwhile, conservationist Dr Philip Ashmole, who has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to nature, has strong links to this area too.

Although he lives in the Scottish Borders, Dr Ashmole is well known locally as he co-founded the Borders Forest Trust which owns Carrifran Wildwood, Talla and Gameshope, Corehead and the Devil’s Beeftub, all in the Moffat Hills.

He said: “I’m delighted to learn that I’ve been awarded an MBE.We must remember, however, that this honour has been earned by many people over many years. It was in 1993 that my late wife Myrtle and I, with a group of friends, launched the campaign to bring back native woodland to the hills of the Southern Uplands, and it was the first day of the new Millennium – 1st January 2000 – when the members of the Wildwood Group completed two years of crowd funding to purchase Carrifran valley for Borders Forest Trust.

“A quarter of a century later, Borders Forest Trust – and many golden eagles – have spread their wings over 4500 acres of denuded hill land, creating the Wild Heart of Southern Scotland, a landscape scale ecological restoration project that shows what rewilding looks like, with developing ecosystems akin to those present before humans dominated the landscape. This is the real achievement that is celebrated today.”