The Trolley Cart - Christmas Foodbank Campaign

Christmas Foodbank Collection

Good news to all you local readers, my first article about the Foodbank for this year is in the village newsletter, so hopefully that will help get the word out, it is also a reminder to everyone just how well we did as a community coming together last year.  The Salvation Army (whom Woking Foodbank work with) were able to provide an additional 90 parcels to vulnerable families/individuals so that is a massive achievement, it just goes to prove by working together we can achieve great things...

Before the campaign really gets going I must say a massive thank you to everyone that gets involved, it is actually a lot of hard work, but I am fortunate enough to have some lovely family and friends in my life.

Brookwood Club and Brookwood Post Office/Bakers Dozen also play a massive role by taking in the food parcels during their working hours, this is a testament to great team work.  The staff are friendly and happy to help, or have I badgered them, I am not totally sure, but on this occasion I am going to go with the first option 😍

Jon Andrews at Radio Woking, based at Winston Churchill School, you picked up on my first tweet last year and asked for that 1 interview, who knew that I would have regular weekly slots - glad you are on-board again this year 😊  you can catch Jon on Wednesday morning's 7-9am http://www.radiowoking.co.uk/ or DAB......be sure to listen in once the Brookwood Campaign gets underway.

You may recall that last week, I mentioned that Homebase in Knaphill (some say Brookwood) https://www.homebase.co.uk/stores/south-east-england/woking very kindly donated a trolley cart for me, see piccie below.  Roger the store manager seems like a really nice person and I have to say that I was a little shocked when he agreed to donate the trolley to me.  You know what its like, bing I had an idea, I will email Homebase and see if they will donate a trolley for free, would it work? could I get it? is it cheeky to ask? and the answer is yes to all of the above, but the moral of the story is, if you don't ask you don't get....My surprise must have shown through when I collected the trolley bright and early Sunday morning.  Well you have to get in early don't you and I didn't want to give him the chance to change his mind!!!   This little trolley is going to be so handy, last year I had several issues; namely bags splitting on the way home with the tin cans rolling all around the village and me standing there like a complete donut not knowing what to do first, so I can remember three bags splitting and I have to say they were pretty darn heavy too, obviously not once they were empty ha ha ha....I was not far from home, but it seemed like miles (bit like when you have had far too much to drink and it seems to take forever to get home when you are walking!!!) anyway, three bags had split, I picked up as much as I could and ran home, well hopped home, for those that know me really well I have injured knees so running is defo out of the question.

I finally got home, threw as many cans as I was carrying over the front gate and ran (yes I know hopped) back for the rest of them.  Can you believe that normally at the end of the working day there are loads of people mulling around the village getting off the trains after a hard day's work, but on this night, not one single person came to my rescue!!!!

Three trips later all the food was safely indoors although a few cans slightly battered.  Funnily enough I did reflect on it and I couldn't stop laughing to myself, if anyone was watching me they probably wondered what on earth is she up to?

The next occasion was when Brookwood Pre-School messaged me to say that they have some parcels for me which the kiddies had very kindly donated.  Ah ha I thought great, I will go collect them before I go to work......this was easier said than done, I arrived at the pre-school to find two very large and lovely food parcels they had both been done up so lovely in boxes, with ribbons and everything.  So I got the piccies for social media and thanked the lovely ladies.  I picked up one of the boxes and thought oooo I am only down the road I can carry it, so off I started, well you know what's coming next, the box starts to get heavy, its getting heavier with every step, I can see the house, but ya know I had to put that parcel down three times before I got home it nearly killed me!!!.  So the second parcel was even bigger than the first, how on earth am I ever going to manage that???? yet another light bulb moment - I know I will take the wheelbarrow - well the ladies at the pre-school thought it was hilarious, but I can tell you it saved my poor old arms, my legs and my back.  Pretty chuffed with my efforts and it was only 8.30am - now to work!!!! 

The first piccie is as was donated from Homebase as I said above, but my very clever friend Phil Bayliss of PA Bayliss Carpentry has very kindly spent  his own time transforming it into what you see now - yes a sleigh (well come on, it is a Christmas Foodbank Collection!)  In my mind it looks absolutely amazing, I am so chuffed with it and Phil has done the most amazing job, let me know if he can help out with any carpentry work as you can see he is pretty darn good.  I am very lucky to live in a village where everyone pulls together to help out, its such a great warm feeling.

Amazingly transformed from Trolley to Sleigh by Phil
Bayliss of P.A Bayliss Carpentry (of Brookwood)