A group of children from Eastern Europe have been given a sample of Highland League hospitality with a trip to one of Moray’s top teams.
Youngsters from Belarus, aged between seven and nine, have spent the past month touring attractions across the area.
Their homeland is still feeling the after-effects of the infamous Chernobyl explosion 30 years ago, and the annual sojourns to the north of Scotland have been organised to boost the children’s weakened immune systems.
This year’s visit is now drawing to a close, but the group was determined not to let their time in Moray pass without enjoying their first trip to a football ground.
And Highland League side, Forres Mechanics, were happy to show the excited brood around Mosset Park.
Club chairman Dr James Anderson ensured that all 19 youngsters left with a full Can Cans kit to take back to Belarus.
Dr Anderson spent more than an hour showing the children around the ground and facilities, and explaining how the club functioned.
He said afterwards that they had been “very interested” in the pie shop – and amazed by the large showering facilities attached to the changing room.
He added: “The thought of 15 or 16 men packing into there really amused them, they had never heard of anything like it.
“They looked so happy, and they were a most affectionate, cheerful little group.
“It’s easy for us to forget how relatively easy our lives are, and spending time with the children was an eye-opener.”
The youngsters got some exercise by running up and down the steps at the ground’s stand, and enjoyed a kickabout on the pitch.
Dr Anderson said: “Most of them enjoyed that, but some of them got more pleasure from sitting in the dugout – which they thought was a very strange place to keep players during games.”
Helen Janousek, activities manager for Moray’s Friends of Chernobyl’s Children group, arranged the visit.
She said: “The children had never been anywhere like that before, most of them don’t even have a football they can play with at home.
“So they had never seen such a beautiful football pitch, or been inside a ground.
“They were delighted to receive the strips, and some of them were saying they would use the football socks to keep warm in the winter.”
