Winter Wonderland Grotto pays off for Lerwick lifeboat

Lerwick Ladies Lifeboat Guild members Linda Simpson (left) and Rhoda Grant receive the cheque from Stewart Jamieson of Harry's.

The Lerwick lifeboat received a welcome boost on Wednesday morning – a £1,620 cheque from Living Lerwick.

The money, from the proceeds of the town centre organisation’s Winter Wonderland Grotto, was handed over by Living Lerwick director Stewart Jamieson from Harry’s.

The cheque was accepted by Lerwick Lifeboat Ladies Guild members Linda Simpson and Rhoda Watt.

The Winter Wonderland Grotto in December gave local children a chance to have a fun
Christmas experience while adhering to social distancing and safety guidelines.

Families were given a 15-minute slot in a specially decorated shop space to receive
a present and meet town centre mascot Maunsie and his friend Olaf the snowman.

Olaf and Maunsie were assisted by volunteers from the lifeboat guild, who got the presents from Harry’s toy shop and wrapped them. There were 191 presents given out over three weekends.

Mr Jamieson said: “We are always delighted to be involved with the town centre
grotto event in December.

“As with everything, it was done a little differently this time, but we had excellent feedback from those who came along and enjoyed their winter wonderland experience.

“It’s been a difficult year for fundraising, so Living Lerwick is thankful to be able to
present this cheque to the local lifeboat station on behalf of town centre businesses
and those who bought tickets.

“The town centre was a busy and lively place in the lead up to Christmas and I’d like
to thank the Shetland public for supporting local businesses.

“We are still open for trading and we take the safety of our staff and customers very seriously, so would remind people coming into town that following the hygiene rules keeps us all safe and well.”