Daredevil Annemarie takes on the Aberdeen Abseil! 20 July 2023 Annemarie MacLachlan, 69, lives in Inverurie where she works in the local Morrisons. A volunteer in the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland store in the Aberdeenshire town, Annemarie took part in the Aberdeen Tower Abseil in June, raising £550 for the charity with Morrisons now matching that sum for a total of £1100. Annemarie MacLachlan admits she’s always been a bit of a daredevil. But even she couldn’t have imagined that she’d abseil more than 130ft off a tower while dancing to the Spice Girls. That is exactly what she did when she signed up to take part in the Aberdeen Tower Abseil in June on behalf of Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. As for the abseil, I think it’s something everyone should do – at least once! Now Annemarie has hit her own fundraising high, raising £1100 for the charity, thanks to match funding from her bosses at supermarket giants Morrisons. Annemarie, 69, lives in Inverurie where she is also a volunteer in the Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland store in the town, which opened earlier this year. In fact, Annemarie was the very first local to sign up to give her free time to the shop. She said: “I’ve always been a bit of a daredevil and I’m not scared of heights, so that helps. I just saw the poster in the shop and thought why not? “It was a bit breezy but sunny on the day. On the way down I could hear the Spice Girls getting played over the loudspeakers so I started singing and dancing along. “The abseil was amazing. Friends from work came to support me and they were all wearing pink T-shirts that said ‘Annemarie, you can do it’. “I didn’t have a target of how much I wanted to raise in mind, but I was delighted to get £550 through Justgiving page and a collection in the shop. Then my manager at Morrisons told me the company does match funding for charity fundraising, so I applied and now my total will be doubled. “It’s great to raise so much money for an organisation like CHSS that does so much good work.” Mum of one son and grandma to a grand-daughter, Annemarie relocated to the Aberdeenshire town in 2019 from Fort William to be closer to her family after losing her husband in 2016. In the West Highlands, she had worked with people with disabilities and also volunteered at the local mountain bike races. Volunteering with CHSS is another way for Annemarie to get more involved in the local community in Inverurie. She said: “The shop is such a lovely place to volunteer. As for the abseil, I think it’s something everyone should do – at least once!” Find out more about taking part in your own challenge by fundraising for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland.