Buddy Bag founder wins recognition for helping child victims of domestic abuse
A Sutton Coldfield woman who founded a Midland charity that helps children fleeing domestic violence at home has been awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list. Karen Williams, CEO of the Buddy Bag Foundation, was recognised by the Queen for her services to victims of domestic abuse. The foundation provides buddy bags – back packs filled with home comforts and essential items – to children living in emergency accommodation. That can be refuges, hotels or B&Bs. Since its launch in 2015, the foundation’s volunteers have packaged and delivered over 30,000 bags to children after raising more than £750,000. Karen, 59, who lives in Sutton Coldfield with partner Sean, said: “I am both honoured and humbled to have received an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list.
My dream five years ago was to set up a charity that could and would make a real and meaningful different to children in emergency care. “With the assistance and support of all our volunteers we have realised this dream. “We have packed over 30,000 Buddy Bags, far exceeding our initial target and look to the future with optimism at the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
“Thank you to all our volunteers and supporters – together we have achieved and are continuing to achieve something truly special.” The idea for the foundation came about in 2014 when Karen, a mother of three and grandmother of four, was in Australia visiting her son.
“The bags go to children who have to flee the family home because of violent situations and often arrive at centres in the middle of the night with nothing.
She read about an Australian charity that helps children who have encountered violence and abuse. “Reading the piece stirred a deep emotional reaction within me and as a mother I just had to do something for children in emergency care back home in the UK,” said Karen. “So I set up the Buddy Bag Foundation in 2015.
“The bags go to children who have to flee the family home because of violent situations and often arrive at centres in the middle of the night with nothing. “Bags cost £25 to fill and contain essential items such as toiletries, pyjamas and underwear and comforting items including books and teddy bears.” Earlier in December, the foundation celebrated its fifth anniversary. Karen added: “What an amazing journey we have found ourselves on.
“The plan to make a difference to children by supplying our bags has totally exceeded by wildest dreams. “With the support of our trustees, ambassadors and volunteers, we have raised over £750,000, with 100 per cent of all donations going towards supplying the buddy bags.
We have managed to pack over 30,000 buddy bags and engaged with over 400 volunteers. “Reading the thank you cards from the children and testimonials from the mums and refuge centres have touched the hearts of so many.” In 2017 Karen was given a Points of Light award by then prime minister Theresa May, and in 2018 she was a finalist in Lorraine Kelly’s Woman of the Year contest.OBE
Head teacher Rachel Davis has been awarded and MBE for services to education
School delight at MBE for Rachel
By Bill McCarthy
A Sutton Coldfield head teacher’s achievements has been recognised in the the Queen’s New Year Honours List. The honours recognise the incredible achievements and service of people across the whole of the UK.
Rachel Davis, headteacher at Little Sutton School and from Sutton Coldfield, was awarded an MBE for services to education.
Staff members at the school, rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted inspectors, praised Mrs Davis on their Twitter account saying: “Congratulations to our Headteacher Rachel Davis on being awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours. We are all so proud of her.”
Parents also praised Mrs Davis’ for her work. Clare Macphail, has three children who spent happy years at Little Sutton.
She said: “All three of my children enjoyed time at Little Sutton and that was down to the warm and friendly learning environment created by Mrs. Davis and her staff. Her MBE is well deserved.”
Mrs Davis has been head teacher at the Worcester Lane primary school since 2004 and is both a National Leader of Education (NLE) and an Ofsted inspector for the West Midlands.
National Leaders of Education provide focused support to under performing schools to enable rapid improvement.
According to her LinkedIn profile, in 2014 she supported a school in challenging circumstances to move from ‘Requires Improvement’ to ‘Good’ in 12 months.
The following year she then helped a school to move from Ofsted category of ‘Special Measures’ to ‘Good’ in 15 months and in 2015-2016 supported a school to move from ‘Requires Improvement’ to ‘Good’ .
Little Sutton Primary School has more than 400 pupils and is designated one of the government’s new English Hubs – one of just 34 schools nationwide recognised for their excellence in teaching and learning.
The hub aims to support schools to achieve excellence in early literacy teaching through an initial focus on developing early language and closing the word gap, developing early reading through systematic, synthetic phonics. It also promotes a love of reading.
Her work was acknowledged by a Tamworth school she supported, who congratulated her for her award on Twitter: “Congratulations from all at Coton Green Primary School… Your help from the English Hub has had an enormous impact.”
Professor Colin Diamond, CBE and Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Birmingham, added: “Warmest congratulations to headteacher Rachel Davis on being awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours. Always the head who goes that extra mile to help others in Birmingham. So well deserved.”
Funeral director Edward sends Vietnamese lorry death victims back to their homeland
By Bill McCarthy
‘The hardest part was seeing the 16 coffins lined up at the airport ready to be flown home.” Those are the words of Edward Cutler, a Sutton Coldfield funeral director who is well used to dealing with bereavement. He probably thought he had seen it all in his 14 years in the business. But he became a key part of a huge international story when 39 Vietnamese migrants died in Kent, after they were transported across the Channel sealed in an airtight container on the back of a lorry.
It happened on October 23 last year, as it was transported from Zeebrugge inBelgium to Purfleet in Essex. People smugglers subjected the 39 victims to unbearable temperatures for almost 12 hours after loading too many people into one container, starving them of oxygen and exposing them to deadly carbon dioxide fumes. Two men have since been convicted of manslaughter over the tragedy.
The container lorry where the victims died
The migrants, 10 of whom were teenagers, travelled in a refrigerated unit, but the refrigeration was not turned on. For Edward, known as Ed, a young man well used to death, after starting out in the funeral business at the age of 16 before building a successful business, those coffins lined up at Heathrow Airport before being flown back to Vietnam, had a profound effect. After the tragedy, he was contacted by the Vietnamese embassy which had heard of his firm’s expertise in repatriation and wanted the victims to be taken back to their homeland. It all started for Ed back in 2009 when he became possibly the country’s youngest funeral director, starting Cutler Funeral Service, aged 19, and going on to build a successful business that included sites across the Midlands and, most recently, London. Sitting in his newest business in Royal Town Funerals in Sutton Coldfield, the 30- year-old comes across as an assured and confident businessman and someone dedicated to his trade. He has an innovative view on the funeral business, with a brightly but tastefully decorated office a world away from some funeral parlours. He said: “My clients, despite being bereaved, appreciate a more airy, more modern and less gloomy place to arrange funeral for their loved ones.”
Top, Edward Cutler with colleague Alan Webb-Moore at Vinh International Airport, located in Vinh city of Nghệ An Province in northern Vietnam, above, in a group with Slater international colleague Matthew Stevens and their translators and chatting with Van Soderlund
After his first business was acquired by a large corporate firm, he went on to open offices in Cannock, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Kings Heath and Barton under Needwood. After a change in personal circumstances, Ed returned to having one local office situated in Pype Hayes. Ed explained after the initial family business was sold, he could no longer trade as Cutler, so he used his mother’s maiden name of Slater and expanded into the business of international repatriation, opening Slaters International Funeral Directors, in London, near Heathrow Airport.
Ed and his team meet with bereaved families, lay tributes and even hug grieving relatives
Ed explained: “I was at a crossroads,” he said. “Slaters started as a normal funeral home offering repatriation as an ancillary service, but I wanted to do more with repatriation, so we set up a new business called Slaters International, still based at Pype Hayes, but as recommendations escalated, we naturally evolved into a specialist in the field” “The majority of business repatriation clients were in London which drew us to seeking premises in the south. We started by working from another funeral director’s premises in Pinner which we outgrew within a matter of months, at which point we had no choice but to secure our very own premises in London”, he said.
He selected a site at Isleworth, near Heathrow, a strategically placed site for flying the deceased from the UK to their homeland. But for him, a was a bit of a risk. He said: “It was quite a big risk as it was very expensive, five times more expensive than a comparable premises in the Midlands. But it went really well and was important to get our own name above the door on our own premises. The gamble paid off and his reputation grew, and having carried out a previous repatriation to Vietnam, he was contacted by the Vietnamese embassy to undertake the hugely complicated logistical operation of moving the container lorry victims back to their homeland. Ed said: “We got a call in October last year call from Vietnamese embassy who had heard good things and wanted to work with us to get their people home. “I was invited to embassy put a plan together, but as the case was being treated as a murder probe, the bodies were not released until the police and coroner had concluded their investigations. When the call came things moved rapidly. He was called on a Friday to initiate the first stage of the operation, transferring the first 23 victims from Essex, which began on the following Monday. He explained the timeline: “On the Monday we collected 24 of the deceased from Essex. We carried out cremations for seven and repatriated the remaining deceased persons on Tuesday. He added: “Two days later on the Thursday the final group were transferred to be repatriated on Friday together with seven sets of cremated remains. Altogether 32 coffins were returned together with seven sets of cremated remains.”
Praising his team, including Nikki Taylor, Matthew Stevens and Alan Webb-Moore for the operation, which ran like clockwork, he said: “With our experience, we turned it around, but the logistics and dealing with that volume in the space of one week was a big deal, whilst managing to repatriate an additional nine deceased that week around the globe from the UK. Each repatriation client was an individual with their own documentation, and which all have had to be dealt with separately.
Memorials and tributes and sharing meals with some of the 39 victims’ families in their home towns
“Was it harrowing, yes it was. The most difficult part was when we conveyed the first 16 victims to the airport and saw coffins. When you see 16 coffins lined up ready to be loaded onto the aircraft, you pause you realise the enormity of what you are actually doing.” Altogether 39 individual bundles of documents were prepared and sent along with the remains to Vietnam. “We were prepared to turn it round in less than seven days. We had a coffin supplier on hand, ready to provide 39 bespoke coffins, and four members of staff to deal with the whole process, as it was extremely important the procedure was kept under wraps.
“We were successful in keeping all of the arrangements private, limiting the press coverage to after the arrival of the initial 16 Coffins. “Me and my team flew out to Vietnam about this time last year to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. We criss-crossed the whole country with our translator Van Soderlund a Vietnamese woman who had her son repatriated by us a couple of years earlier, and her husband Thomas Soderlund, meeting all of the 39 families. It was a moving experience.” he said.
There they attended funerals, memorial services and socialised with families while at the same time taking in the breathtaking sights of Vietnam. Ed, who lives locally and grew up in the Sutton area, now runs his operation from his new business, Royal Town Funerals in Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, with the repatriation business growing year on year. “We still have our purpose built premises near Heathrow, but I work personally from here Four Oaks, with a team of operatives on the road taking care of the physical repatriation work. Here, I conduct all funerals myself.” Asked who are his main customers for repatriation. “Most often repatriations are to Nigeria,” he said.
Having a drink during their epic criss-crossing of Vietnam, taking in some of the sights and landmarks
“It is a big country with a population of nearly 200 million people, but second is the Philippines, Jamaica and Commonwealth for obvious reasons, but Africa is our busiest destination. He said people from Hong Kong, Eritrea, Greece, Italy, Romania, Iraq and Vietnam were among current clients. “We generally average around 26 clients for repatriation at any one point in time. This became important when the coronavirus pandemic struck. At the time of the first lockdown in March, we had 45 repatriation cases to deal with but no outgoing flights from the UK. Luckily at our funeral home in London , we had the mortuary space to cope.” Like most funeral directors, he has seen noticed an increase in funerals as a result of the the Covid 19 pandemic. But like many other businesses, margins have been hit by lockdown restrictions on funerals. “We have been affected he said. With numbers cut for attending funerals, people are opting for simpler, lower cost funerals,” he said.
A veteran in his industry at 30, it seems unlikely that a mere pandemic is likely to cause this businessman problems for too long as he plans for a bigger more successful future.
Funeral directors Lee Solomon and Nathan Scully, seated, at their smart Sutton premises
Funeral directors win industry award
An independent Sutton Coldfield funeral business, founded by two lifelong friends, has been named one of the UK’s best.
The firm has achieved the ‘Recommended’ accolade following an assessment visit by the Good Funeral Guide, an independent funeral consumer advocacy organisation.
Lilies Funeral Directors started serving their local community in September 2015 and opened their funeral home in March 2016 on Chester Road, then a second on Kingstanding Road in 2018.
Sutton-born owners Lee Solomon and Nathan Scully, both aged 31, were born on the same street, went to the same playgroups and their mothers were best friends. They went to different schools but remained friends. Straight out of education, Nathan went into the funeral industry and worked his way from the bottom to become a funeral director within one of the country’s largest funeral services. Lee went to university and has a background in marketing and business development.
When the pair were 21, they had the dream of opening a funeral home together and turning a life long friendship into a deep and caring business partnership. Five years later their dream came true with Lilies.
In its review of Lilies Funeral Directors the Good Funeral Guide says: “Their reviews and testimonies on Google are all five-star reviews, with clients constantly referencing how the pair had gone the extra mile, how nothing is too much trouble, and their compassion and professionalism.”
The Good Funeral Guide assesses select funeral homes according to strict criteria which focus on thequality of the experience they offer to bereaved people. Lilies Funeral Directors has been inspected to ensure that clients are treated with courtesy, listened to with empathy, offered a full range of choice, charged fairly and empowered to play whatever part they want in creating a send-off for the person they have lost which accords with their values and wishes. The accreditation process also involved spending time behind the scenes in order to ascertain that those who have died are cared for with the utmost tenderness and respect. Fran Hall, CEO of the Good Funeral Guide said: “Choosing a funeral director can be very difficult because often they all look much the same. But they’re not. Some, a precious few, are truly outstanding, and Lilies Funeral Directors is one of them. “The team at Lilies Funeral Directors are unsung heroes doing a magnificent job, and the people of Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham deserve to know this.
“Bereaved people need to do their very best for their loved one who has died. They deserve the very best funeral director.” Director Lee Solomon was delighted with the recognition and said: “We are extremely proud to receive this accolade. Knowing our hard work and commitment to our families has been recognised and applauded by an organisation who strive to make the funeral industry better, leaves me very emotional.”
For information contact Lee Solomon at lee@liliesfunerals.com, call 0121 321 3446 or visit the website at www.liliesfunerals.com
The Good Funeral Guide is wholly independent of the funeral industry. It offers information and guidance to the bereaved and supports, empowers and represents the interests of dying and bereaved people living in the UK. It is a not-for-profit social enterprise company — Community Interest Company number 7818343.
Always smiling. Martha with her star award and at the start of her treatment
Brave Sutton schoolgirl, aged four, receives award as she starts tough new cancer treatment
A four-year-old from Sutton Coldfield who is facing chemotherapy over Christmas has received a CRUK for Children & Young People Star Award in recognition of her courage.
Martha Givans was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia just before she started school in July. Now she’s on the toughest phase of her treatment yet but her family are determined to make this Christmas extra special.
For the bravery she’s showed throughout her treatment so far, she has received a Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People Star Award, in partnership with TK Maxx.
Every child nominated receives the accolade, which is backed by a host of famous faces including celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, Nanny McPhee actress Dame Emma Thompson, This Morning’s Dr Ranj and children’s TV favourite Mister Maker.
There is no judging panel because the charity believes every child diagnosed with cancer deserves special recognition. The awards are open to all under-18s who have been diagnosed with the disease in the last five years.
As well as a star shaped trophy, Martha also received a £50 TK Maxx gift card, t-shirt and a certificate signed by the celebrities.
Martha, a pupil at Holy Cross School, received the award just as she was about to start her most intense round of treatment to date. The treatment involves three different chemotherapy drugs with side effects including sickness and extreme tiredness.
Mum Natalie Givans, who nominated Martha for the award said: “I can’t put into words how amazing she is. Some days she has to have 15 different tablets a day but she never moans and she’s always smiling. She has twin cousins aged two and she just mothers them, she’s so loving and caring.”
Martha was diagnosed at Birmingham Children’s Hospital in July after her mum took her for a blood test on the advice of her GP.
“My mum kept saying she’s really pale,” said Natalie. “She didn’t have any other symptoms but eventually I called the GP. I didn’t want to go into hospital because of COVID but the doctor advised me to take her to the Children’s Hospital for a blood test. We got there at 9am and I got a call while I was shopping three hours later telling me to bring her back.
“I was in a complete panic. I knew it must be cancer but they couldn’t tell me until we had the results of more tests.”
Results of initial tests were inconclusive so Martha and Natalie had to stay in hospital for another three days before finding out what was wrong.
“I refused to Google anything,” said Natalie. “After three days I was told it was leukaemia. It all felt like a dream but I was just thankful she had the most treatable type.”
Although prognosis was good, Martha still needed immediate chemotherapy and her treatment won’t finish until 2022.
Bright and bubbly, Martha always has a cheerful smile not matter what she is going through
“Everything seemed to happen at once,” said Natalie. “She was really poorly with the first lot of chemo because she had to have a high dose of steroids for six weeks. That meant that was wanted a proper dinner every two hours.
“What was worse was that she didn’t want to play and she didn’t smile for weeks. It was like the lights were on but there was no one home. It was horrendous.”
Natalie was told that Martha would lose her hair but, so far, it’s only got thinner on top.
“She’s been lots better since she came off the steroids but she’s just started her intense phase of treatment so we have to see what the next few weeks bring,” added Natalie, a part-time accountancy lecturer at Sutton Coldfield College.
“She’s due to be in hospital Christmas week so we haven’t been able to plan anything but we’re hoping we can be at home on Christmas day and make it special.
“Getting the award was a lovely surprise. She knows she’s special now because she has a certificate and star to prove it.”
Around 160 children are diagnosed with cancer in the West Midlands region every year.*
Paula Young, spokesperson for Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People in Staffordshire, said: “Martha is a real star and it’s great to see her smile is back. It’s been an absolute privilege to be able to celebrate her courage with a Star Award.
“Cancer can have a devastating impact on children and young people and many of those who survive may experience serious long-term side effects from their treatment.
“We’re encouraging people to nominate inspirational youngsters for this year’s Star Awards, so we can recognise more children like Martha.”
More children and young people are surviving cancer than ever before, thanks in large part to the work of Cancer Research UK.
But, the disease still claims the lives of around 510 under 25s in the UK every year.**
Cancer in children and young people is different to cancer in adults – from the types of cancer, to the impact of treatment. That’s why Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People is supporting dedicated research to improve survival and reduce long-term side effects for youngsters like Martha.
For example, Birmingham is home to Cancer Research UK’s Children’s Cancer Trials Team, the only one of its kind in the UK. The team coordinates groundbreaking clinical trials in many centres across the UK, including Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham. These trials make innovative new treatments available to young cancer patients.
The Star Awards are run in partnership with TK Maxx, the biggest corporate supporter of Cancer Research UK’s work into children’s and young people’s cancers. Since 2004, the retailer has raised over £40m for the charity. Over £37m of this total has supported research to help ensure more children and young people survive cancer with a good quality of life.
This was the scene at the Bracebridge in Sutton Park today. Scores of people queuing at the takeaway, lemming-like, or standing at tables near the pub.
There’s little or no social distancing in a 60 year queue, little evidence of face coverings and everyone appearing to treat it just like another normal Sunday.
This, less than 24 hours after after the latest restrictions were announced, as the virus is rampaging through the south of England and probably on its way to the Midlands before long.
The death toll is now approaching 70,000, more depending on which figures you look at, with hospital intensive care units near capacity and people just don’t seem to care.
It does not bode well for Christmas, whatever the law says, if people are just prepared to flout the rules, and yes, put others in danger.
Sutton residents promised more efficient service with first of new fleet
Residents in Sutton Coldfield have been promised an improved bin collection service as the first of 76 new environmentally-friendly waste and recycling vehicles have started to roll out on the streets.
The vehicles have been supplied to the city council by West Midlands-based Dennis Eagle and represent an £11 million investment into Birmingham’s waste collection service.
Their arrival in the city heralds the start of the rolling replacement of a fleet that was last upgraded in 2014 and will see the remainder of the service’s vehicles refreshed by 2024.
All the new vehicles will be compliant with the city’s Clean Air Zone, which is set to be introduced from June 2021.
Cllr John O’Shea, Cabinet Member for Street Scene and Parks at Birmingham City Council, said: “Our hardworking crews do a great job as part of our effort to keep the streets of Birmingham clean.
“But they need the best tools possible in order to do this – the refresh of our fleet is long-awaited and will help improve the reliability of the collection rounds, reducing our dependency on hire vehicles to shore up the service.
“Just as importantly, these are vehicles made right here in the Midlands. They are cleaner and greener and will improve our wider environmental ambitions related to air quality and carbon emissions.”
Dennis Eagle’s Sales & Marketing Manager Lee Rowland said: “It’s great to be supporting an operator right on our own doorstep, in a place where many of our own staff live.
“This is a very significant order for Birmingham City Council as these vehicles will be much cleaner and more efficient than their existing fleet. They will play a key role following the introduction of a Clean Air Zone next June which will benefit everyone who visits or lives in Birmingham.”
The offending four-page newsletter and at the Sutton Park unveiling of the electric bike campaign
Sutton Coldfield deserves better than naked electioneering during pandemic
As the coronavirus held us in its deadly grip this year, I have held my tongue as government and local leaders grappled with the horrendous number of fatalities caused by this terrible disease, writes Bill McCarthy.
But with a figure of approaching 70,000 dead, more, depending on which figures you look at, due mostly to government incompetence and the catastrophic consequences for business and jobs, I can hold my tongue no longer.
Why? Well, just the other day we what I can only describe as a propaganda sheet dropped through the letterbox, extolling mainly the virtues and achievements of West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.
My local the Butler’s Arms, on Lichfield Road, being a classic example of keeping customers safe with ingenious and ground-breaking ideas, at some considerable costs, all for nothing it seems.
This is the mayor who speaks of his contacts with health secretary Matt Hancock, but seems to have little influence. Take the vaccination programme where Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham, our second city let’s not forget, is left off the initial rollout.
He says on a recent Twitter feed: “I expect confirmation this afternoon that vaccinations will begin in Birmingham in the coming days. Disappointing and surprising that the city’s NHS trust wasn’t part of the initial roll-out given its size and record, but I’ve been in contact with Matt Hancock to put that right.”
On an electric bike at Sutton Park and e-scooter in Birmingham
Seems par for the course, just like the cosy phone calls about the tier system and how he was ignored on that score as well.
But back to the four-page sheet called Sutton Coldfield Champion. It goes into great detail about the Conservative mayor’s achievements, together with praising other local Tories, including MP Andrew Mitchell, town council leader Simon Ward and West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner candidate Jay Singh-Sohal.
The fine print tells you it is published on behalf of West Midlands Conservatives. Which is fine except Andy Street is mayor of the West Midlands, not just Sutton Coldfield. So the Sutton Champion angle is a bit disingenuous, don’t you think? Especially when his Twitter feed says he is ‘Conservative Mayor of the best region in the world’.
Looking at ‘achievements’. It’s a bit like Frank Sinatra. He’s had a few, but then again, too few to mention.
It seems to be a case of ‘pressing’ for this, ‘supporting’ that or ‘maintaining’ the other. Hardly a roll of honour is it Andy? Constantly lobbying on our behalf. Well the lobbying is buttering few parsnips as far as Sutton’s hospitality industry is concerned.
I have to admit an interest here as family members work within that sector. Furloughed if they’re lucky, but not sure if they have a job to go back to, or already out of work, with a bleak future ahead of them.
The efforts to keep Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield in tier 2 failed miserably. The lobbying was so low key, it was invisible. Hospitality venues have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep premises Covid-secure. My local, the Butler’s Arms, on Lichfield Road, is a classic example of keeping customers safe with ingenious and ground-breaking ideas, at some considerable costs, all for nothing it seems.
Meanwhile, the mayor is never shy of a picture opportunity, wobbling around on e-scooters, electric bikes or digging yet another hole, while the hospitality sector tanks. Bit like Nero with his fiddle.
He boasts of having the ear of Matt Hancock, well try the organ grinder, the Prime Minister, rather than the monkey, although I doubt he will get much joy there either.
For the record, Sutton Park was the venue for unveiling the new cycle hire scheme which is due to launch across the West Midlands next year.
The operator, Santander Cycles, has been appointed by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) to offer bikes for hire in Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Walsall from next Spring.
Contractor Serco will initially provide 1,500 bikes for hire, of which 10 per cent will be ebikes. Serco? Think track and trace. What could possibly go wrong?
You really need fewer picture opportunities and more concrete action Mr Street.
Adam in the garden at St Giles with a picture of him and Sue, who died in march during the lockdown
Husband shares emotional story to support St Giles Hospice after the cared for his dying wife during lockdown
A husband is making a heartfelt appeal for people to support St Giles Hospice after they took such good care of his wife when she died just days into England’s first national Coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
Adam Watkinson had to say his final farewells to his wife Sue and go into self-isolation because of COVID-19, but added that even though he could not be with her, the knowledge that she was so well cared for and did not die in fear was the greatest gift the hospice could give him at such a difficult time.
His appeal comes as St Giles, which has centres in Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield, renews its call for people to support Katie’s Appeal, the charity’s response to COVID-19, at a time when it has been forced to close its shops again and cancel fundraising events, leaving the hospice more reliant than ever on donations from the community.
Adam in the garden at St Giles with ward manager Sharon Meehan
Sue was receiving palliative care as an inpatient at St Giles in Whittington when she called Adam on the morning of Wednesday, 25th March and told him she was struggling to breathe. Adam rushed to her bedside, fearing that she was taking her last breaths, but the nurses helped to reassure Sue and they were able to calm her down.
However, later that morning St Giles Clinical Director, Katie Burbridge, had to tell Adam the devastating news that they suspected she had COVID-19 and that they were waiting for the test results.
Lichfield Diocesan priest Adam said: “At that time – in the height of lockdown – and because I too had possibly been exposed to Coronavirus, I had no choice but to self-isolate for seven days on Government guidance.
“I sat next to Sue, holding her hand. She was wearing a watch that I had bought her just weeks before and I watched the minutes on it ticking down to 12, knowing from that moment on I’d probably never see her again.
“It was such an emotional moment for everyone, but Katie was so helpful and thoughtful. She knelt down next to Sue, held her hand and told her that she would keep her safe. It was a beautiful moment at such a terrible time. Katie’s reassurance was so important to us both.”
Sue, who worked as Matron-in-College at Eton School, was first diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2018.
During term time she and Adam, who is an Anglican Priest and Chaplain at Charterhouse School, lived apart, but during holidays the couple shared a home in Alrewas with Sue’s son Sam.
“Sue’s end – when it came – was quite beautiful. She passed away on the morning of Sunday, March 29, after a night of restful sleep.
They moved to their new home in July 2019, but only months later Sue fell ill on New Year’s Eve and a scan revealed that her cancer had returned and spread. She began chemotherapy but developed sepsis and was told that the treatment would have to end and that she would receive palliative care.
Sue was admitted to St Giles on Friday 20th March in the hope that her condition could be stabilised enough for her to return home, and Adam spent as much time with her as he could.
Adam added: “Right from day one she was totally reassured that St Giles was the best place for her to be. The nurses started caring for her straight away – no detail was left unchecked and they looked after her so well.
“The food was lovely and Sue was able to enjoy it – it was wonderful to see her regain her appetite and enjoy eating again. Sue loved birds and her room looked out onto the trees. We were allowed to put bird feeders up so she could watch them, which was such a joy.”
Memories of happy holidays together, on a special night out and Sue, during her treatment for cancer
But two days later Adam was told that family visits were being limited to one a day due to the national rise in COVID-19 cases, and further safety measures were then introduced in accordance with Government guidelines.
“The staff were all so wonderful and we looked upon them as family,” he added. “They started to wear protective clothing – but despite that, we could still see their eyes and could see the love and compassion that was there.
“One of the people who cared for Sue was asthmatic and although she could have been vulnerable to COVID-19 herself I watched as she helped my wife. I preach about love and self-sacrifice but at St Giles I was watching it in action every day.
“They showed such professionalism, with humanity and gentleness. When the nation clapped for the NHS and health staff each week I could put real faces to them.”
Adam feels so grateful for the love and care that his wife received and the support that he and Sam have been offered since Sue died that he is sharing his story to support Katie’s Appeal – the fundraising campaign launched in Spring 2020, which has become vitally important again during the latest lockdown.
Adam has told his story in a moving video which accompanies the appeal, named after Katie Burbridge, the hospice’s Clinical Director who pledged to look after Sue during her final days when Adam was unable to visit.
Katie said: “Sue was going to face death without him, but we made sure we were 100 per cent with her and she was never, ever on her own – that’s the promise I made to Adam and that’s the promise we kept as a team.
“We are so indebted to Adam for his kind support and honoured that we were able to offer Sue and Adam comfort at such a heart-breaking time.
“With ongoing CVID-19 restrictions this continues to be an extremely worrying time for everyone, especially our patients and their families who are living with a terminal illness.
“As a hospice we are experiencing a big increase in demand for our care services.
“We are continuing to care for our community’s most vulnerable people which is easing the burden on the NHS and our dedicated care teams are still working 24/7 in our hospices and out in our community.
“We are concerned about the impact the Coronavirus outbreak continues to have on the hospice’s future.
“The fact is that we need to raise £850,000 every single month just to keep our services going. That’s why our message to the community is that we need your help today to ensure that we’re here for you tomorrow.”
Reliving his final moments with Sue, Adam is asking people to help in any way they can. “It’s so important that other families continue to get the care, love and reassurance that Sue and I received,” he said.
“I was devastated when we had to part, but Sue told me not to get too upset and that it would just be like when we went to work at our separate schools. It was a relief to see that she had such acceptance and it helped so much that Katie had promised Sue would be safe.
“Sue’s end – when it came – was quite beautiful. She passed away on the morning of Sunday, March 29, after a night of restful sleep. She could see the birds through the window and one of the nurses who was caring for Sue, noticed a change in her breathing and was holding her hand as she slipped away,” he added.
“The care and support we received as the end approached and the continuing support we have had from St Giles since Sue passed away is very special. They have kept in touch and they genuinely do feel like family to us.
“When we first arrived at St Giles a nurse said that the hospice was about life, not death, and we got a real sense of that. It’s not a place to be feared. There’s a vibrancy, there’s a care and there’s a joy.”
Anyone who would like to make a regular monthly donation or one-off donation to support the work of St Giles to give the hospice a little more certainty in these uncertain times can visit www.stgileshospice.com/katiesappeal
St Giles TreeCycle volunteers get ready for a day of tree collecting.
GO GREEN TO SUPPORT ST GILES HOSPICE THIS WINTER
Sutton Coldfield people can give St Giles Hospice a ‘tree-mendous’ Christmas gift this year by supporting the charity’s annual TreeCycle campaign.
St Giles is inviting families and businesses who don’t want to face the mess and inconvenience of disposing of their real Christmas trees to sign up to TreeCycle and have their tree collected in return for a small donation – and the hospice is calling for an army of volunteers to step forward in January to help collect the trees.
The TreeCycle team recycled 3,200 Christmas trees in January 2020 and raised over £35,000 for the hospice, a record-breaking figure which more than doubled the 2019 total.
Now, following a year when the COVID-19 pandemic has forced St Giles to shut its shops during two lockdowns and cancel its organised fundraising events, the hospice has announced that TreeCycle will be going ahead and collecting from more locations than ever before.
Elinor Eustace, Income Generation Director at St Giles Hospice, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that TreeCycle can go ahead in January and we’re hoping that it will be bigger and better than ever. We’d ask everyone to support us this year if they can – we’ve never needed you more than we need you today.
It’s a simple, easy way to get rid of your real tree after Christmas and it raises money for such a good cause at the same time.
“COVID-19 has disrupted so many of our fundraising campaigns in 2020 – heavily impacting our income – but TreeCycle’s doorstep collections are convenient, environmentally-friendly, and completely safe and socially distanced, making them the perfect way to launch our fundraising comeback in 2021.
“We’re so grateful to everyone who signs up for TreeCycle – and especially to all the individuals and businesses who kindly volunteer to work off their Christmas turkey by helping to collect all the real trees.”
All collections will be socially-distanced and managed in line with the most up-to-date COVID-19 guidelines, with appropriate equipment for both hospice staff and volunteers to ensure everyone’s safety. Tree donors do not have to be present when the tree is collected.
Rachel Brown and Chloe Ingham from the Wincanton for Screwfix team collecting trees for TreeCycle in January
Among the TreeCycle volunteers in January 2020 was Retail Resource Manager Rachel Brown, from Branston, whose father David as well as a close friend were both supported by St Giles after they were diagnosed with cancer.
Rachel took part in TreeCycle as part of a team from her Fradley-based employer Wincanton for Screwfix, who have already pledged to put together another team for the January 2021 collection.
She said: “My dad was cared for by St Giles nurses at home until his death in 2006, and my friend was cared for at the hospice for two weeks last year (2019) until she died just before Christmas. We had a really positive experience with St Giles so my support for TreeCycle is personal – my dad and my friend had incredible care and we’re so grateful.
“My mum has supported TreeCycle since it started and I was really glad to be a part of it in January 2020. It’s a simple, easy way to get rid of your real tree after Christmas and it raises money for such a good cause at the same time.”
Rachel’s friend and fellow Wincanton team member Chloe Ingham, a Transport HR Adviser from Uttoxeter, added: “It’s a really fun event to be involved in. You don’t have to be a professional driver or able to lift heavy objects to do it and it’s so well planned. Treecycle is really good for the environment and everyone who signs up can be sure that their trees will be disposed of properly.”
This will be the sixth year that St Giles has been running TreeCycle to raise funds for the hospice, and teams will collect trees from around Lichfield, Walsall, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Burton, Rugeley, Burntwood, Uttoxeter, Swadlincote, Stafford and surrounding areas.
TreeCycle will be collecting trees from Wednesday 6th until Wednesday 13th January 2021. The minimum donation for trees up to 8ft is £10 and the donation for trees up to 10ft is £12. For trees over 10ft, please call 01543 432538. Collections must be booked by 5pm on Wednesday 6th January 2021 and trees should be left out overnight on Tuesday 5th January as collections will start early the following morning.
Lichfield Tree Works and Greener Composting in Wall, Lichfield, will be recycling the trees for agricultural uses and as a result artificial trees cannot be accepted.
Sutton Coldfield Life 