The idea began in 2009, with an eye on world events and a dread of signing hundreds of Christmas cards, we decided to donate our budget for printing corporate cards to charity and send out an E-card instead. Together with the girls in the office, we donned our sparkliest outfits and popped open some bubbly. Charles Nicholls – friend, Landlord and keen photographer volunteered to come and take the pics for us.
The following year we asked the Housekeeping Team to join in with the photo, even dressing up Ruby with a big red ribbon. This year, the team has grown again and some of our Landlords managed to gatecrash the photoshoot too. We decided to host at our home as a way of saying Thank You to the Team for all their hard efforts throughout the year.
Add in some nibbles and fizzy stuff and the evening took on quite a lively flavour.
As is becoming the trend when we all get together, the Team are keen to share their unique party tricks with their colleagues. Who knew Rosie (an ex-gymnast and trampolinist) could pick up a Champagne cork from the floor using only her mouth? Or that several of her colleagues would then be inspired to see if they could too… Or that together, with Nigel leading on the drums, we would so enjoy “performing” (and I use this term loosely) Stevie Wonder tracks in Nigel’s new music studio, despite none of us being able to sing or play any instruments. (Video footage of this event is currently on lockdown!!)
So the donation we are making this year is to El Rohi Community School in Uganda (the school name comes from the Hebrew for Good Shepherd). We hope that our small contribution will make a difference to the lives of children much less fortunate than our own. A friend at our daughter’s school is an airline pilot and she has become involved with the school over in Kampala, dropping off spare clothing and stationery each time she visits. Food is exhorbitantly expensive in Uganda and it is a constant dilemma for the Headmistress there to juggle the finances and provide a nutritious meal for the pupils – often the only meal that they will have each day. We would like to support the school on an ongoing basis so more info to follow in the New Year.
We hope you enjoy our Christmas e-card and approve of our nominated charity. We’ve had a lot of fun putting it together and feel proud to have contributed in some small way to help others.
We would like to wish all our Friends, Customers, Landlords and Suppliers the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years! Visit our Facebook page to see more pics of our photoshoot.
