It's a family affair as former Caithness convener receives MBE from Prince Charles at Castle of Mey
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Former Caithness area convener David Flear received his MBE from Prince Charles at the Castle of Mey at the weekend – and it was very much a family occasion.
Mr Flear (74), who served as area social work manager and chaired the Dounreay Stakeholder Group, was honoured for services to health, community care and the community.
He and his wife Helen were joined by their sons Simon and Adam, Simon's wife Amanda and Adam's partner Ashley, along with eight-year-old grandson Owen, who attends Pennyland Primary School in Thurso.
Prince Charles, who is known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, made the presentation on Saturday in the castle foyer.
“It was nice to be able to have the whole family there and for them to meet Prince Charles, because he spoke to every one of them," Mr Flear said.
“My eight-year-old grandson even remembered to say 'Your Royal Highness' and 'Sir'."
It was evident from one remark that Prince Charles had been reading up on Mr Flear in the local press.
When the MBE was announced in the New Year honours list, Mr Flear said he was delighted for his wife and family. "They've had to put up with me for years going to meetings and getting my knickers in a twist when things didn't go right," he told the Caithness Courier at that time.
At Saturday's event, the Duke of Rothesay wondered if Mr Flear had now stepped down from all his public commitments.
"He was on good form," Mr Flear said. "Obviously he had read the bit in the Courier because he said, 'Is that you really retired now?'
“I said no, I've got one thing left to finish, on October 22, the Scottish Hydro Electric Community Trust.
"And he said, 'So that'll stop you getting your knickers in a twist?'
“And I thought, 'Oh, somebody has shown you that article!' So I was very impressed with him."
Mr Flear added: “He was brilliant, his usual self – I've been out to receptions four or five times and I've always found him the same. He is very able to speak to you and ask what you're doing.
“He goes to walk away to the next person but he always turns round and finishes a conversation. He's got a great knack of doing that, so you don't have a cut-off.”
Mr Flear added: “I got a lot of nice feedback, people saying 'well deserved' and 'you've been good for the county'. So that's nice – that makes me feel good."
The family had dinner afterwards at the Pentland Hotel in Thurso.
Originally from Fife, Mr Flear came to the area in 1985 as principal officer for elderly services for Caithness and Sutherland, and went on to be area manager for all social work services in Caithness.
He served for 13 years as a Highland councillor and was the last area convener for Caithness, holding that post for four years before a change to the structure of the local authority.
He spent eight years as deputy chairman of housing and social work and jointly chaired a community care committee with Caroline Thomson from NHS Highland.
During his time on Dounreay Stakeholder Group, Mr Flear was one of the driving forces in bringing the Nucleus archive centre to Wick. He was also pleased to have played a part in locating some Dounreay staff in the Dounreay.com building in Thurso town centre.
He represented the stakeholder group on a visit to Japan in which he spoke at a seminar about decommissioning and the impact on socio-economics and community benefit.
Mr and Mrs Flear live in Halkirk.
