A photograph printed in the Press and Journal has helped bring a family together despite lockdown.
Muriel Scanlan is a resident at Inchmarlo Care Home in Banchory, with her children in Aboyne, Suffolk and Spain.
But the miles between them all vanished this week after Mrs Scanlan’s picture appeared in the Past Times section of the P&J.
The photograph, date 1985, showed her in her Women’s Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) uniform at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.
Along with Sister Hilda Glennie, she and other volunteers were snapped as they enjoyed a “thank you tea party” in recognition of their work to cheer up young patients.
The Past Times photo was spotted by Kevin and Malcolm Angus, who recognised their former neighbour Mrs Scanlan immediately. They e-mailed an image of the newspaper page to her daughter, Kate, who lives in Spain.
She in turn e-mailed it to her sister Lizzie Finlayson, a GP in Aboyne, who then sent it to the final sister, Caroline Holmes, in Suffolk.
Given the lockdown situation the sisters have no way of visiting their beloved mother.
But they contacted staff who were able to print off a copy of the Past Times page and show it to Mrs Scanlan.
Now 93 – and with an ailing memory – she nevertheless reacted immediately to the image, to the “delight” of staff.
Daughter Caroline said: “When Malcolm and Kevin sent the image to Kate, who sent it on to us, the world suddenly felt a lot smaller.
“We were thrilled to see the image.
“This was very special to us, we obviously can’t visit mum and she doesn’t quite speak on the phone.
“But the staff at Inchmarlo said she responded really well to it.
“Her memory isn’t what it used to be – but sometimes she’ll really click with something, like she did with this photo.
“For all the family, spread over the world, it felt something like a virtual reunion. The P&J brought us together.”
Mrs Scanlan, who lived in Aberdeen’s Gladstone Place before moving to England after having children, was a well known face for her volunteer work in the north-east.
Her daughter added: “She did lots of charitable work, volunteering was her full time job. And she was a great believer of if you were volunteering, you should enjoy it.
“You’re seeing that across communities now during lockdown– people volunteering who truly care, particularly in rural areas.”
