An Ashburton woman has won a photo competition thanks to the cherished memories of her honeymoon in Scotland with her late husband.
Elaine Tubby spotted our winter photo competition which asked its residents to use their phones or cameras to capture their pets, winter wildlife or a stunning landscape that sums up what winter means to them.
Elaine immediately dug out a special picture taken by her late husband, Shawn, when the pair celebrated their honeymoon in Glencoe, a Scottish village, in 2017.
Shawn, who had just celebrated his 53rd birthday when he lost his battle with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) last month, loved capturing the Scottish scenery and this picture was taken outside the couple’s honeymoon hotel.
Elaine has had the picture made into a giant canvas which has been put up in the lounge of their home which was specially adapted us to meet Shawn’s mobility needs in the latter stage of his life.
Elaine said: “Shawn would be very proud that this picture has won a photo competition as we both loved that scene he captured on his mobile phone.
“It holds dear memories for us both as we were together for 32 years before we got married in 2017.
“The scenery is amazing, and Shawn always said he would love to live there when he retired. We had some good friends up there.
“When we moved into our LiveWest adapted home, we put up a large canvas of that setting in our lounge.
“Shawn loved it, it reminded him of our wonderful honeymoon when the snow came down and we were in the most beautiful hotel overlooking the mountains. It was like a scene out of The Chronicles of Narnia.
“So when I saw LiveWest were running a winter competition, that picture immediately sprung to mind.
“We loved the walks in and around that area and it will always remind me of the special times we had together."
Elaine and Shawn’s world was rocked when Shawn was diagnosed with MND in March which resulted in Elaine giving up her job running South Dartmoor Care, a health and social care business, to care for Shawn.
Elaine added: “Shawn was officially diagnosed in March, but we knew there was something wrong from around October.
“We moved into a home that had been specially adapted by LiveWest in Ashburton eight weeks before Shawn passed away.
“Those eight weeks made a massive difference to Shawn. It is all open plan, so he had room to move around in his wheelchair and it was nice and light.
“It has also got lovely views of the moors from the development which Shawn loved. He was Ashburton born and bred so it was nice for him to be back in the town before he passed away.
“It also meant he could have nurses around to the house and he was glad to be able to stay at home instead of having to go back and forth to hospital.
“Motor Neurone Disease is the most horrible disease, but family and friends have rallied around and helped us. We are a close-knit family, and it has been a challenging period in our lives.
“We are going to all have Christmas together and we know Shawn will be smiling down on us all. He would want us to make some memories and celebrate his life.”