Charity donation makes Mayor of Winchester sing for joy
The Mayor of Winchester was presented with a late Christmas offering last week. A cheque for £1,760 was handed to her by a group of officers of Winchester City Council as a contribution towards her chosen charities for the year.
The Council Carollers had been invited to a special reception at Abbey House in recognition of their time and enthusiasm for a fundraising mission that far exceeded its original objective, and will benefit five good community causes as a result.
The choir was the brainchild of Eloise Appleby, the Council’s Assistant Director (Economy & Communities). She commented:
This began simply as a fun way of getting together with colleagues to sing a few carols. Some of us were really daunted by the idea of singing in public – but as we grew in confidence, the choir really took off. It was a big commitment for those who took part, all fitted into lunch breaks or evenings on a voluntary basis, but we really enjoyed the experience. Singing is fun and good for your health – and we think that local people enjoyed hearing us, too!
The Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Jane Rutter, added:
I love singing and belong to The Waynflete Singers, who sang at my mayor-making ceremony. So, as a fundraising initiative, the Council Carollers were a great fit with my Mayoral Year – and I was pleased to be able to sing with them on a number of occasions. I would like to thank all the members of the public who contributed so generously in response.
There were some heartfelt stories along the way. Passers-by with tears in their eyes talked of songs they used to sing with long-dead parents. One family pushed a £50 note into the collecting tin, after their mother had found £200 in the street and – when it was not claimed through the Police – vowed to give half of it to local charities. But every coin and note was joyfully received by the Carollers, who never in their wildest dreams expected to raise the figure they did.
An invitation to the reception at Abbey House was extended to representatives of South West Trains, who hosted the choir at Winchester Station one night – and plied them with welcome mugs of hot chocolate to keep out the cold. Tesco staff also attended, having also been very hospitable and helpful to the choir. The Carollers also performed at Sainsbury’s, at Whiteley Shopping and at the Wickham Christmas Lights Switch-On, as well as on a series of Thursdays at the Christmas tree on Winchester High Street.
And will the Carollers be out again next Christmas? Eloise Appleby suspects they will. She said:
Colleagues didn’t feel they could commit to a year-round choir, but everyone said they would be up for carols again in 2017 as well as for one-off performances during the year. We’ve already made one recording of a new song for a launch in March which is top secret at the moment, and we’ve been invited to perform at the Mayor’s community awards. Working with our excellent musical director from SingForce, we look forward to extending our repertoire and push ourselves to new heights in the months ahead.