You never have to look too hard to find articles critical of young people, so it’s always nice to be able to tell the other side of the story. Step forward Comely Bank woman Helen MacDonald.
Helen, who is 76, was clearing up following a family birthday party at LifeCare House. Whilst leaning over to dump bags of rubbish in a big bin in Comely Bank Street she took a dizzy turn and fell. Disorientated, Helen was confused and unable to get back to her feet.
“To be honest I wasn’t sure what I was going to do”, she said. “It all happened very quickly and it was a bit of a blur. One second I was putting bags of rubbish in a bin and the next I was on the ground. I felt a bit daft!”
Help was at hand, however. Three S2 Broughton High School pupils were on lunch break when they witnessed the accident, and in the finest tradition of the Three Musketeers Justin Youngs, Mason Harrison and Reece Head leapt to the aid of a damsel in distress.
The boys quickly got Helen back on her feet again, and, having been reassured that Helen was none the worse for her mishap, the students headed back to Broughton.
That may have been the end of the story, but for Helen’s daughter – another Helen. When she heard her mum’s story she felt that the schoolboys deserved some recognition for their prompt actions so she embarked on some detective work. Young Helen – it had been her birthday party, incidentally – contacted the Head Teacher at Broughton and the three students were soon traced.
Last week Helen – who has made a full recovery – was reunited with Justin, Mason and Reece at the Inverleith Community Conference at Broughton High School. The boys remained modest about their actions, but Helen gave the lads small gifts to show her appreciation and said: “I am really happy to have the chance to say a proper ‘thank you’ to the boys. I really don’t know how long I would have been there if they hadn’t come to help me. You do hear lots of awful things about young people but these boys are a real credit to their families and their school.”
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