|
● Home
●
Membership
●
Sports
●
Area Events
●
Media & Pr
● Photo Gallery
|
27 December 2006
TRUE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IN BILLERICAY
Dear
sirs,
Tired, cold and somewhat dispirited by the rush of
last-minute Christmas Eve shopping in the dank December
darkness, we went to cheer ourselves with a glass of mulled
wine by the welcoming fire in The Chequers in Billericay
High Street.
We
were soon joined at our table by some fellow refugees from
the cold, one of whom was a lovely lady called Tina.
Unbeknown to her, we have re-Christened her “Tina Twenty”.
The conversation had roamed up hill and down dale for a
while when Tina remarked on the Round Table Santa Sleigh
which had adorned the High Street the day before. Grown
men, fetchingly attired in elves’ hats and Day-Glo tabards,
had been giving away an assortment of smile-making sillies
like flashing pink bunny ears.
What
kind of man spends the Saturday before Christmas standing in
the street looking utterly ridiculous, distributing objects
of questionable taste to complete strangers? Well, I
suppose I always knew that one day my secret would have to
come out … men like my partner Russell! It’s true, he and
his colleagues-in-crime from Billericay Round Table get up
to some high-spirited, if not downright embarrassing, antics
in their efforts to distribute some more meaningful and
serious gifts. All the money they raise by giving their own
time and talents to organize events like the annual
fireworks display in Lake Meadows goes to local charities
and people in need. Last year they gave away £22,000.
Tina
seemed really moved by some of the examples of donations
Billericay Round Table has recently made to local people.
But not as moved as we were when she simply reached into her
handbag and produced a twenty-pound note for Russell to add
to their funds. We had never met before, and perhaps won’t
again. We hope she won’t mind, but to us she will always be
“Tina Twenty”.
Our
spirits raised and our hearts warmed by such trusting
generosity, we wound our way home, reassured that true
Christmas spirit endures in Billericay.
Linda
Walsh
|
