Autumn into winter turned out to be rather wet and windy - but didn't deter us!
October saw us back in Banbury town centre for the annual canal festival weekend where we were fortunate to have an undercover pitch out of the rain. We met lots of hardy souls, including the Town Mayor, and spent a lot of time laughing!
Some of the team with Banbury Town Mayor
We also welcomed a new cohort of very new Samaritans who began their Core training and Samaritans journey.
The 19th was the inaugural Banbury Samaritans Sunrise Walk with a group of volunteers, friends, supporters and dogs walking 5km before watching the sun rise. Their reward - apart from raising vital funds for the Branch they were treated to bacon rolls and steaming mugs of tea at the end. Huge thanks go to Fine Lady Bakeries of Banbury for donating the rolls and their enthusiasm for the event.
November included another first for us with a fundraising collection at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre (another rainy day) followed by wreath laying in Brackley and Banbury with the Royal British Legion on 9th.
December. Another first but a real show stopper in more than one sense of the word! The Westminster Group Foundation, based in Banbury selected us as one of their two charities to support with their annual Christmas Lights Trail held over two weekends. Sadly rain and strong winds led to the first day being cancelled, but undeterred everything went ahead on the remaining 5 nights with the last Sunday being especially popular with local families. Our volunteers acted as stewards directing and assisting visitors and making the most of the terrific atmosphere. Our massive thanks to the Westminster Group for selecting us and raising and incredible sum.
