It was a happy, cheerful, warm and friendly day when Santa came to the gallery on December 15. Santa (alias Harry) and the elves (alias Liz, Dom and Roger) created a wonderful time for the children. Each child was greeted individually and had a few minutes with Santa and the elves. Each child got a small gift courtesy of the gallery, who also provided popular Christmas crafts.
While the children were waiting, Jean, Frances and Sandy had Santa letters for them to fill in and post in Santa’s post box. We also had a tree with baubles that people could either write on their name or a Christmas wish which they then stuck on the tree. People thought this was a lovely idea, with parents and older siblings joining in enthusiastically. Roger entertained the children with a mouse and robin finger puppets.
In the hall, Ann and Marilyn had a bottle stall to raise funds towards the restoration of the icons. This was so well patronised that we ran out of bottles! £92 was raised. A brilliant result.
Thanks to Harry, Roger, Jean, Frances, Sandy, Ann and Marilyn from the Friends and to all the gallery staff. A really lovely event for families in our community.
Many thanks also to all those who supported us with bottles and best wishes.