Cardboard king remembered by Hardengreen store staff

Peter’s former workmates held a memorial day in his honour on April 3, with a host of fundraising activities held in the store.

Claire Scott, community champion at Tesco Hardengreen, was happy that staff and customers were able to remember Peter, who was affectionately known as the cardboard king due to his love for taking cardboard off the shelves for customers.

She said: “The memorial day was great. It was lovely to hear both staff and customers tell stories and memories of Peter. Almost everyone said they couldn’t believe it had been a year already, and everyone still looks for him poking his head out the aisles looking for someone to chat to while collecting the cardboard!

“We also unveiled a bench for Peter at the front of the store, and all of the staff were invited out to take part in a minute’s silence to remember him. It was nice for the staff to take a quiet moment together to remember him out at the bench.

“We would like to say a big thank you to Kevin McAllion from Mac Signs who printed our fundraising T-shirts for the day free of charge.”

To mark the anniversary of Peter’s death, at the age of 51 from a heart attack, staff held a sponsored cycle and a tombola in his memory in the store. Peter had been with the company since 1988, starting as a trolley attendant at the then William Low in Dalkeith, before moving to the Tesco Hardengreen store when it opened in 2000.

The staff raised £840 on the day, which will go towards payment of first aid, referees, catering and a donation to Newtongrange Star for the use of their facilities to cover the costs of the second annual Peter Brownlee Memorial Cup, taking place on Sunday, May 13 at New Victoria Park. Claire said: “We are all very excited that the football tournament in Peter’s memory looks as if it will be an annual event.

“We have a mixture of teams from Tesco stores from the local area, local teams and a couple of community groups as well.

“There a still a couple of slots up for grabs, and anyone who wishes to play should get in touch asap.

“All profits from the day will be split between three causes close to Peter’s heart – Newtongrange Star Youth Development Academy, Newtongrange Silver Band and Newtongrange Gala Committee.

“We are also still looking for local businesses to donate prizes or vouchers for our raffle to raise as much money possible.”

To donate prizes or enter the football tournament, email [email protected] or ask for Claire Scott at the store.