SOME of the Wee County's unpaid carers were treated to an afternoon tea in Tilly by a local support group last week.
Friends of Clackmannanshire Carers (FOCC) organised the event, which took place at the Butterfly Inn on the afternoon of Thursday, August 22.
Around 35 people attended and "everybody enjoyed themselves", according to FOCC's treasurer Elizabeth Ramsay.
The idea for the event came about after FOCC applied for funding from the Scottish Government's participatory budget – which was distributed throughout Clacks by St Mungo's Parish Church and Ludgate Church.
Elizabeth, 68, told the Advertiser: "So the idea was we actually ask a group of unpaid carers: 'If we apply for this grant, what would you like to spend it on?'
"They said an afternoon tea would be nice – and it really just came about from that.
"The Butterfly Inn were prepared to do an afternoon tea for us, and they were amazing."
Elizabeth said she was delighted with the feedback following the event, which proved to be overwhelmingly positive.
She said that one of the attendees told her: "It was nice to be able to switch off as carers for a few hours."
For many, it also offered them a chance to take a break from their caring responsibilities and return feeling "refreshed".
According to the Falkirk and Clacks Carers Centre, there are around 6,000 unpaid carers in Clackmannanshire.
And Elizabeth claimed that too many of them don't acknowledge how important their work is – or claim the help and support they are entitled to.
She said: "A lot of people don't recognise themselves as carers, because it's their mum or dad [they're looking after]."
But, FOCC works to provide well needed respite to as many of the Wee County's dedicated unpaid carers as it can.
And when asked how she felt about the group's most recent event, Elizabeth said: "It went really well.
"Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves."
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