A WELL-KNOWN charity founder insists she thought she was just going for a lunch date when she was offered the chance to become Old Kilpatrick's first-ever female Deputy Lieutenant (DL).

Maureen Cummings from Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels (OKFP) admits she had “absolutely no idea” what was about to happen when she was recently asked to meet Lord-Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire Jill Young MBE.

But the Wee Chatty Café boss – who recently took over renovation of the village’s Napier Hall – walked away from the Bearsden date with a nomination to become one of five new DLs for the region.

It means she will now assist whenever there is a Royal Visit to the area as well as deliver 100th birthday telegrams and lay a wreath on memorial days such as Remembrance Sunday.

Maureen said: “It was a complete shock to me.

“The first I heard about it was about two months ago, when the Lord Lieutenant had reached out and invited me for a meeting at Kilmardinny House in Bearsden.

“I mistakenly thought she was asking me out for lunch and when I got there it was like an interview setting, all very grand.

“And she just said there had been a nomination and she had been researching about my background and the charity and she would like to propose that I join her team.”

Maureen’s nomination passed through Scotland’s First Minister and then HRH King Charles for approval before she received an email confirming her new status.

“The email said: ‘The King does not disapprove of your appointment,’” Maureen laughed.

She admits this “tremendous honour” will hopefully enhance the credibility of her much-loved food bank, a project she started in 2020 as a response to COVID-19 and that helps more than 1,000 people a month.

Maureen replaces retiring DL Owen Sayers and will hold her new title until she is 75 years old.