Aberdeen’s former Depute Provost has thanked her saviours after a stumble on one of the city’s uneven pavements left her in A&E.
Jennifer Stewart took a tumble while walking along Rosemount Viaduct, crashing face-first to the ground.
Staff from the nearby Masada pub rushed to help her, even driving her home after the painful ordeal.
Feeling the effects, Mrs Stewart later went to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s A&E department for X-rays to check nothing was broken.
‘I’m sporting a yellow cheek’
She revealed the details of her recent accident during a discussion on road and pavement maintenance at a meeting of Queen’s Cross and Harlaw Community Council.
And the independent Hazlehead, Queen’s Cross and Countesswells councillor explained how it brought home the reality of the city’s crumbling streets.
She said: “I’m sporting a yellow cheek.
“Due to an uneven pavement outside the Masada Bar, I spent the evening in A&E.
“There has been a lot of talk about the state of our roads and pavements, but when you experience something yourself you realise where the public are coming from.
“I know a lot of residents have had accidents with uneven footpaths, pavements and slabs.
“There are a lot of bad pavements. A lot.
“It just needs a couple of inches and you go flat out, I had to have my face X-rayed.”
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‘Kindness of strangers’ hailed
Mrs Stewart added: “An employee from Masada took me home, and I was then taken to A&E.
“It did remind me of the kindness of strangers.
“And of course, 10 out of 10 to our wonderful NHS.”
Community council chairman Sandy Stephen said: “It just shows that people do care.”
‘She came in here to settle down’
Masada owner, Colin Cameron, was also quick to praise worker Mark Wallace – and revealed that a grateful Mrs Stewart popped in a gift bag the following day.
He said: “Mrs Stewart came in here to settle down as Mark was finishing his shift, she had a fairly bad injury to her face.
“She couldn’t get hold of her husband so Mark took her up the road.
“The next day, she dropped off a bag of goodies for him.
“I was pleased with the actions of my member of staff, and her most grateful reaction.”
Mr Cameron added that the pavements outside the pub are not notably bad, and there have not been any similar accidents there.
Aberdeen’s uneven pavements were part of major election promises
Prior to the council elections, Aberdeen’s uneven pavements and pothole-plagued roads formed the backbone of political manifestos.
The Lib Dems, now in a ruling coalition with the SNP, pledged £40 million towards improvements.
That narrowly exceeded a similar £39m promise by the defeated Conservative group – who suggested sharing out £3m apiece for each of the council’s 13 wards.
‘We recognise some require attention’
However, Mrs Stewart swept politics aside.
She said it “doesn’t matter who is running the show” when it comes to keeping track of the city’s infrastructure.
A council spokesman last night added: “We recognise that road and pavement surfaces in some parts of the city require attention and repair.
“The City Growth and Resources committee yesterday agreed a list of prioritised carriageway improvement projects, including the allocation of £1 million for footway resurfacing.”
You can watch the discussion here.
Conversation