Janey Godley’s Blog

If you ask me who I think should have won (I am allowed my opinion!) I would have loved to have seen a wee battling woman called Helen who was also a finalist pick up that award.

She works tirelessly with drug addicts in an severely under funded area in Dumbarton, she gives up hours of her spare time to offer love and help to people who have been ravaged by the drug that has wiped out a generation of young people in that part of the world. She isn’t well educated, nor is she dressed in the best of clothes, she has a face that looks like it has seen too many dark nights and if I needed a woman on my side, it would be her.

I am not taking anything away from the good Doctor, but I am known for speaking my mind and my heart sank when I saw heard her name announced.

I watched the wee woman Helen applauding the Doctor and I wished I could turn back time and give her the £5000 charity money. I wished she’d won it.

I have never and probably will never devote my life to charity and be that hands on with people whom society normally shun and help to that extent with a problem that will never be fashionable, drugs are seen to be a symptom of weak people who harm themselves.

Helen was never taught how to do the job she does, she just gets on with it.

Tonight Helen McKenzie you are my Scotswoman of the Year, the majority of the people I spoke to agreed when we all chatted outside, you work hard and with no pay and will probably never get an OBE, Bless your wee Scottish heart, you are an example to every one of us.