Former Forres Academy teacher Dougie Conners wins £2200 on Cans fans' Lotto
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A FORMER Forres Academy teacher is reinvesting some of his £2200 Cans Lotto winnings in the local club he supports.
Dougie Conners (66), originally from Dunfermline but now lives in Nairn with his wife Lorna, follows Aberdeen FC home and away, but he has also been attending Mosset Park whenever he can while playing the club raffle for the last 25 years.
He said: “The main reason I do the lottery is to put some money into the club so some of the winnings will go back from whence it came!
“I’ve bought a half-season ticket and I’m buying whisky with the rest as I don’t want to waste any of the money.
“I’ve bought a few bottles already – Mortlach and Glenmorangie Malaga, though I’m not a connoisseur – I just drink it!”
Dougie retired from his career as a business studies teacher at Forres Academy in 2014. Having started at the school in 1995, he went to his first game At Mosset Park the following season.
He said: “Mechanics have a nice set-up and are well run.
“I know a lot of folk involved at the club and other fans who go to the games.
“I particularly enjoy seeing the kids coming through and breaking into the first team. I taught Ross ‘Chucky’ Macpherson who went to Forres Academy with fellow Highland League winners Simon Allan and Scotty Moore.
“I used to get Mechanics raffle tickets from school janitor Duncan Simpson and I’ve won £25 before.”
Since retiring Dougie has indulged his passion for football and travel, visiting Sweden, Latvia, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Switzerland, Croatia, Bosnia, Italy, Spain, and England.
He added: “In normal circumstances I’d be looking to spend a bit of the cash on a visit to Buenos Aires and a Boca Juniors match at La Bombonera where I’d wear my Cans scarf!
“However, I’ve booked hospitality for three for the Brora game at Mosset Park on January 8 ... if it goes ahead!”
Cans’ weekly lottery was launched in 2019 to enable investments in the club and to benefit the wider community. It replaced the monthly bingo evening and the 700 club which ran for decades.
A lottery line costs £2 and if a winner matches all four numbers, they scoop the jackpot of £1000.
In addition to the lottery, prizes of £100, £50, two of £25 are given out each week as a raffle draw.
Each week, the jackpot increases by £100 if the jackpot is not won until a maximum of £3000 has been reached which is then drawn as part of the raffle.
Play online at https://forresmechanics.net/ or directly through club officials.
