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LONDON, Dec 31, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Queen Elizabeth of Britain's New Year's honors list includes some unknowns -- like a recently retired Scottish milkman.
George Bell -- who retired earlier this year after 34 years of delivering milk to several towns near Edinburgh -- joins Rod Stewart, actor Hugh Laurie and other famous names on the list. Bell told The Scotsman that news of his OBE came as "a huge shock."
Another Scottish honoree, Jan Wilson, is a retired child care worker and chairwoman of Haddington Community Council, honored for her efforts to prevent the closure of a psychiatric hospital. Wilson said she was "absolutely gobsmacked" by the news.
"I was short of words for probably the first time in my life and I even cried. As a community council we have done quite a lot and it is very nice to be recognized for that," she said.
John Grey, 80, who shines shoes for Virgin Atlantic passengers at London's Heathrow Airport, is also being honored.
"Of the two of us, I suspect John has been more influential in helping to look after our passengers," Virgin Atlantic's chief executive, Steve Ridgway, who is getting a CBE, told the BBC.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
