Garden centre provides traditional Christmas cheer with all the trimmings

Christmas came early for a group of Ottery residents who enjoyed a free Christmas party at Otter Garden Centr es.

The garden centre opened up its festively decorated conservatory to older local people who are going to be on their own on Christmas day. 51 came along for a delicious Christmas meal including a traditional roast with vegetarian option and a choice of puddings, followed by coffee. To get the festive spirit going, guests also enjoyed wine on the table and had fun pulling the all-important Christmas crackers.

9 volunteers from the Ottery Help Scheme helped out on the day, including driving guests to the event. Talented pianist Bruce provided the music and everyone joined in with carols at the end of the afternoon.

Otter Garden Centres’ Managing Director, Jacqui Taylor said: “The Christmas season can be really lonely for those on their own and I hope this shows they are not forgotten. It was heartwarming to see so many locals having such a lovely time.

“We would all like to say a special thank you to former Mayor Glyn Dobson and his wife Gay who organised the party. Even though he’s retired, Glyn is always thinking about ways of bringing happiness to the local community.”

The event was put on by Otter as part of the company’s 60 Good Deeds campaign, celebrating its sixtieth year in business. It was inspired by the late Betty Williams whose ‘lunch for the lonely at Christmas’ held at the Lamb and Flag made national headlines in 2014.