Turning sadness into happiness

AN event held to bring together people who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day returned to Henley after a five-year hiatus.

The “Jingle and Mingle” event welcomed 80 guests to the Christ Church Centre in Reading Road to share a three-course meal and participate in Christmas activities.

It was organised by Gary Boys, co-founder of Henley Man Club, and Irenna Bailey, who previously hosted a Christmas lunch for people on their own before the covid pandemic.

Mr Boys said he organises the club to do something for the community each Christmas. This year, after a friend put him in contact with Ms Bailey, the pair managed to raise £5,000 and put together the event in six weeks.

He said: “The event was for people that otherwise would be home alone at Christmas. The whole theme was jingle and mingle, and not to be home alone and join the community spirit.

“We had everyone from widows who had lost their husbands this year, people in mobile carriers and scooters and there were families that couldn’t afford a Christmas dinner.

“There was a diverse group of ages, both men and women and then there were volunteers.”

Guests arrived at the church centre and were welcomed by Rev Glyn Millington, minister at Christ Church.

They were given tea and soft drinks in the reception room before being escorted into the church hall, which had been festively decorated for the lunch service.

Mr Boys, who is a DJ and entertainer, performed a set and hosted a music quiz, in which each table formed a team and the winner of nine rounds received Christmas prizes.

Town councillor Dave Eggleton appeared as Father Christmas and distributed gifts. Mr Boys said more than 30 local businesses donated to put the event together.

Food for the three-course Christmas meal, which included turkey crowns, pigs in blankets and honey roasted ham, was donated by Gabriel Machin butchers in Market Place.

Spoon restaurant, in Duke Street, also donated food including soup.

Other donors included the Cheesy Grape, the Old Bell, the Angel on the Bridge, Southern Plant, Tomalin and Son, Gainsborough Residents Association, Henley Freemasons, Arda Fencing and Landscaping, Viv’s Café, Well Be It, DH Tiling and Adrian J Hairdressing.

Mr Boys said that many guests had written to them with messages of thanks following the event, with one guest saying it was the “one of the best” Christmases they had ever had.

He said: “The whole theme was to make people feel wanted, needed, part of something and not alone.

“If you just look at the build-up to Christmas and if you just look at the media and the way Christmas Day is portrayed, it’s a time families get together, everyone is happy and the family open presents and la la la.

“Well, there is a significant rest of the world — and I put myself in that list — who would be alone. We don’t have that feeling of family spirit because some of our family members might be dead or you’re not with your kids.

“If you just wrap up what we did, we turned that sadness into happiness.”