PETERHEAD man Stephen Bruce had the surprise of the lifetime last week when an early morning wake-up call told him to expect a very special house guest - the Scottish Cup!
Stephen, of Coplandhill Crescent, had unknowingly been entered in a nationwide contest by proud daughter Stephanie to win the chance to spend a day in the company of the priceless national heirloom.
Family and friends joined the football fan on Th
ursday to admire the world's oldest football cup, which was presented to Stephen by former Celtic and Scotland player John Kennedy.
After spending a couple of hours with the trophy, Stephen paid a visit to Clerkhill School where lucky pupils got the chance to get up close to the cup.
The trophy then continued to make the rounds with a trip to Balmoor Stadium, where Stephen generously raised £100 for the Make-a-Wish foundation by asking people to make donations and have their picture taken with the cup.
Stephen said: "We had such a fantastic time and the kids all seemed to be really enjoying themselves. It was also the perfect way to end the day by raising money for the Make-a-Wish foundation."
The dad-of-two won the top prize after daughter Stephanie nominated him in order to highlight and reward the hard work her dad had put into getting the family and community active.
In February 2008 Stephen and his wife Roselyn set up Peterhead JogScotland, to get residents on the road to a healthier lifestyle and improve their fitness. It now has more than 250 regular members to the club and is continuing to grow.
When the Buchanie caught up with Stephen moments before the trophy arrived, he couldn't contain his excitement, saying he was delighted to spend the day with the trophy and thankful to his daughter for the support she had shown him.
"I just got the call at eight this morning telling me about the prize and I was absolutely delighted. I had no idea that Stephanie had nominated me and I was thrilled to find out I had won. It's not often the Scottish Cup comes to your home is it?
"You can see how important the trophy is when you find out how protected it is, the thing's worth a lot of money so it's under constant supervision while it's here.
"I want to say a massive thank you to my daughter Stephanie for nominating me, it was a fantastic gesture and I am just over the moon!"
As well as working overtime to organise the new JogScotland club, Stephen and his wife also ran the London Marathon last year, raising an amazing £14,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Daughter Stephanie said she had nominated her football loving dad because of all the hard work he had done for the local community.
"He is such an inspiration to me and to the people of our community, he really deserves this - I can't wait to see his face."
In 2009, the cup visited schools and communities across the country and this year, Active Nation and The Scottish FA are giving fans the chance to win The Cup for a day. For more information, or to enter the competition you can go to: www.ouractivenation.co.uk
