It’s good to talk — even better to give      

THE STAFF at BT don’t hang around when it comes to doing their bit for charity. So they jumped off a Glasgow hotel. Seventeen of their brave staff abseiled 13 floors down the Marriott Hotel to raise funds for the new hospice. BT Business Manager, Philip Kingsley (29), from Bearsden said of his abseiling debut, “I’d never abseiled before, but it was great fun. “It was only later that I found out my mum, Jean, was in the original committee that set up CHAS 10 years ago.  “That made it even better for me to be involved.” BT Valued Clients representative Margaret Hunter, who organised the event, said, “It may have taken 10 minutes to come down the wall, but I’m sure it felt longer to them. We’re glad to do our bit for The Sunday Post CHAS appeal.” The Magnificent 17 raised £1200 — but the fun didn’t stop there. Their Valued Client colleagues have created a fun calendar to sell to the rest of the staff at the Glasgow office. One staff member got dressed up in a different outfit for each month — a footballer, cheerleader, golfer, an abseiler and, of course, Ms Santa Claus for December. Philip Kingsley posed in his abseiling gear. He said, “It wasn’t by choice I ended up in the calendar. They only had 11 of us so I was frog-marched into posing for it!” And his colleague, Lynn Mackay (27), from Airdrie, who became Ms July, knew why she had to pose in a rugby strip. She said, “I’m keen on watching the Scotland team playing and I figured I’d look better in a rugby outfit than a swimsuit!” They hope their calendar will raise around £700, bringing the total to £1900.  As if that wasn’t enough, ex-fireman Barry Nelson — now a manager at BT — has volunteered to work with the team when the hospice opens.

You can e-mail us at: hospice@sundaypost.com