Meet our very own castaways
| Published date | 16 February 2022 |
If Lanarkshire charity worker Wendy Russell can't be marooned on her desert island with Take That frontman Gary Barlow at least she would have his music for company.
Wendy, who is social enterprise manager with the award-winning Lanarkshire LEAP Project, fell for Take That at the age of 12, and would skip school with her friends in the hope of catching a glimpse of her boy band idols when they played sell-out gigs in Glasgow.
Even now, for a 41-year-old Wendy, Take That - and Gary, in particular - Rule the World: hence her choice of Desert Island Disc.
"Now as an adult, my best friend, Nicki, and I follow them everywhere we can. We go the length and breadth of the country, taking in numerous cities and shows by the boys or Gary Barlow," said Wendy, who queued outside Cameron House Hotel for eight hours in the bitter cold in 2015 for a brief encounter with Gary and Mark Owen.
As a castaway, Wendy would choose The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho as her desert island read.
"My sister, Lynsey, bought me this book for Christmas. I had been going through some hard, life-changing decisions and this book landed on my lap just at the right time," she explained.
"I'm not much of a reader, but I just couldn't put this one down - the right book at the right time that made me see life through a different lens. As soon as I read it, I called her, and we spoke for hours about what it meant to us. Very inspirational."
And, for her little luxury, she'd feel compelled to take to her desert island a taste of home in the shape of a delicious brunch from Rutherglen cafe and community hub, Vin 18.
Another lover of all things gourmet is Selina Cairns, owner of Carnwath-based Errington Cheese and founder of Scotland's newest regional food group, Lanarkshire Larder, which showcases the area's producers of the finest food and drink.
She would take with her Fleetwood Mac's track, Go Your Own Way.
"Fleetwood Mac is timeless and I never tire of listening to them while driving," said Selina.
"The song reminds me that everyone is different and you should follow your own path and believe in yourself."
She would dust down the set of language books and discs she's had for years, yet never used, in the hope of using the rare commodity of time to learn to speak and comprehend French.
"I really regret not trying harder with it at school and I wish my French skills were better for both holidays and work.
"When buying cheese cultures and equipment from France, it would come in useful, as I feel very...
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