With Christmas approaching, I had the great pleasure to take a behind the scenes tour of Tilgate Park’s Magical Christmas, up at the Walled Garden – all arranged courtesy of Crawley Borough Council. Story time with Santa, as well as the popular Santa’s Grotto, fairground activities, a range of food and drink stalls, a fun “escape room” for kids and free theatre productions. The park looked truly wonderful. What more could families want for a fun day out at this time of the year?
I also had the pleasure to see the switch on of the Christmas lights by the Mayor in the town centre in a packed out Queens Square. It was wonderful to see so many young families out enjoying themselves. While there, I also had the pleasure to meet Snowflake the Frost Dragon! County Mall is marvellously decked out and well worth a visit too.
There has again been wonderful work by local volunteers to hold Christmas events for everyone – FreeShop, Age UK, the Posh Club and many others. It is that generosity and Christmas spirit I see going on everywhere, including the wonderful Love Your Neighbour Crawley packages that went out to hundreds of local households.
My thoughts go to those who may be having a challenging Christmas, those people who are in temporary accommodation (well over a thousand in Crawley Borough, sadly), those who may not have many people to share it with, or will find it difficult to pay for.
I also want to thank those who will spend the festive season working, such as the emergency services, healthcare professionals, airport and care workers. Many will be sacrificing their own Christmas Day off to care for others as they do, with dedication, all year around.
This Christmas, I will be visiting my family and enjoying a break away from council duties. I feel incredibly lucky, I have a large and loving family and I recognise that not everyone is in such a position.
But whatever you are doing during this festive period, may I personally wish you a happy and contented Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.
Cllr Michael Jones
Leader, Crawley Borough Council