Thurso artist's painting of Sir Alex Ferguson nets £3000 for local charities
A signed painting of football legend Sir Alex Ferguson has generated £3000 for good causes in Caithness.
The portrait by Thurso artist Davie Greig was raffled in aid of local Macmillan Cancer Support nurses and Caithness Foodbank, with the money divided equally.
The fundraising venture came about after local businessman Gary Reid, who runs Thurso-based Reids Bakery with his wife Tracy, sent Davie's painting to the former Manchester United manager in the hope that he would autograph it. The artwork depicts "Fergie" during his time as Aberdeen boss, holding aloft the European Cup-Winners' Cup which the Dons won in 1983.
In due course, Sir Alex – who won multiple trophies domestically and in Europe – gave Gary a call, saying that he liked the picture and would be happy to sign it and dispatch it back to Thurso.
Gary had already gifted shortbread to Sir Alex a number of years ago.
They had a 10-minute conversation in which Sir Alex said: "By the way, I see you're doing a great job there at Reids Bakery."
Raffle tickets were sold through a number of businesses across Caithness.
“A lot of shops took it on board," Gary said. “It's a fantastic amount.
“I gave a free box of 48 biscuits to everyone selling tickets and I would like to thank them.
"Some people were putting £50 in, one even put £100 in for a ticket. We had a good uptake."
Michael Macgregor was the lucky winner of the painting.
Hampers from Reids and Driftwood added to the prize pool, along with a gift set donated by Linzi Matthews of AllurebyLinzi.
Meanwhile, Gary will be replying to Sir Alex to express his gratitude – and some of the family firm's products are likely to find their way to the world-famous home of Manchester United.
“I'm going to send him a thank-you card and I'll maybe send some biscuits to Old Trafford as well,” Gary said.
Davie said: “I'm absolutely delighted with the way everybody dug in, given the times that we're in just now.
"A lot of friends and businesses helped out massively. I'm over the moon.”
Phil Picking, representing Caithness Foodbank, and Sheila Sinclair, of Macmillan Cancer Support, accepted cheques for £1500 each from Gary and Davie at the bakery in Thurso.