A Fitting Farewell to a Man of the People; How the Tea Ladies Joined the Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister and Giants of the Political World to Pay Tribute to First Minister Donald Dewar

Byline: COLETTE DOUGLAS HOME

THE heart of Scotland missed a beat yesterday afternoon as the country bade a final farewell to Donald Campbell Dewar. Workers downed tools to stand in silent prayer as the hour of his funeral arrived.

Shoppers lowered their heads, office workers paused to remember him. North and south of the Border, Government itself was suspended as Cabinet Ministers from Westminster and Holy-rood converged on Glasgow Cathedral.

Inside, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John looked down from the lofty stained glass window on the northern wall of the ancient Quire to where the First Minister's coffin lay facing the altar, bedecked by a single red rose. The understatement reflecting the character of the man inside; just as the potency of the symbol echoed the universal love of him so apparent in the church.

Glasgow Cathedral, that haunt of pilgrims since the Middle Ages, had never seen a gathering like it, never seen a congregation so diverse yet so united.

Alongside the Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister sat cleaners, tea ladies and canteen …

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Publication information: Article title: A Fitting Farewell to a Man of the People; How the Tea Ladies Joined the Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister and Giants of the Political World to Pay Tribute to First Minister Donald Dewar. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: Daily Mail (London). Publication date: October 19, 2000. Page number: 10. © 2007 Daily Mail. COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group.

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