Tuesday 2nd May, 2023 at 3:35pm
The Partick Thistle Charitable Trust is £2,000 better off thanks to the generosity of lifelong Thistle fan Donald McBain, who decided to make the sizeable donation after his latest Centenary Fund success.
Donald, who will celebrate 60 years as a Thistle fan this coming August, has enjoyed notable highlights during that period including the 1971 League Cup Final, travelling to watch the Jags face Honved in Budapest and now, two Centenary Fund jackpot wins!
Having won a Citroën C1 VTR, as provided by club sponsor Macklin Motors Glasgow, some 12 years ago, Donald was amazed to see lightning strike twice when the latest draw was made last month.
Upon being informed of his good fortune and with his trusty Citroën still running, Jackie Husband Stand season ticket holder Donald decided to trade in for the cash equivalent prize and promptly made the £2,000 donation to the PT Charitable Trust.
He said: “The moment I received the phone call from Gerry Britton, when I instantly recognised the voice, I had an idea what was coming next! It’s quite something to win the big draw twice and given that good luck it seems only right to spread it about a bit, with the Charitable Trust an easy choice given all the incredible work they do. I’ll also be making a donation to the City Centre supporters’ bus while a cousin of mine recently adopted a little girl so some money will be going in that direction as well.”
Anything left over may find its way in Donald’s Budapest travel fund, as he is making his latest trip there this Autumn having caught the bug for the Hungarian capital more than 50 years ago.
Donald continued: “After the joy of being at Hampden for the big day in 1971, the bonus was European football the following season. So when we drew Honved and were off to Budapest in September 1972, it was out with the rucksack and away on the train for an adventure. I met fellow fans Alan Johnstone and Gordon McPhail on the long journey there and when we did get to Budapest we didn’t even have a place to stay so spent the night in the waiting area of the railway station – the things you do for the Jags!
“I loved the experience so much I have been back nine times since and return again in September, it’s just one of those places that once you have been you want to go back again.”
While Donald enjoys the performances of the 2022/23 squad this season as they continue to fight for a top flight return, he was crystal clear on who his all-time Thistle favourites are:
Answering that question without a hint of hesitation, Donald said: “Jackie Campbell and Dougie Somner – both good footballers and no nonsense with it – one stopper and one scorer, that’ll do for me!”
Everyone at Firhill, at the PT Charitable Trust and at Macklin Motors would like to congratulate Donald and say thank you for the kind donation – we hope you enjoy spending the rest of your winnings including in Hungary.
If, like Donald, you’d like to be in with a chance of winning a car in our next big prize draw, join the Centenary Fund today: https://ptfc.co.uk/fans/centenary-fund/join-the-centenary-fund/
