A Southend Advent - 10:11 am, Wed 2nd Dec 2009
Like many people, I often think that Christmas seems to appear in shops and adverts earlier and earlier each year. But there's now no denying Christmas is around the corner. Whilst for many of us Christmas is a time for family and merriment during the winter season, those same characteristics make it very hard for those who have very little money to spend on their family or who have no family at all.
Last weekend was the first weekend of Advent: a time to reflect on helping those in need and also hope in the future. The good news is that there is a lot of both in Southend judging by the good works I saw at the weekend.
First, I joined the Turning Tides junior wardens as they helped put up a Christmas tree and decorations at the Mother and Baby Unit on Heygate Avenue in central Southend (see picture above). It was cold but not as cold as my last outing with the junior wardens to the lifeboat station on Southend Pier. Since then, the Turning Tides community project has gone from strength to strength, with more junior wardens being trained up and now even younger wardens (the "Baby Wardens") being given the chance to get involved with community services around the town.
But the future of Turning Tides as a whole is not guaranteed. Whilst I'm pleased that Turning Tides was set up thanks to a direct grant from the Labour Government, that grant finally expires next March. Southend's Labour councillors have tabled a motion calling for Southend Council to support Turning Tides and I hope that councillors from across the political parties come together to keep this special project alive.
After a very blustery street stall on Southend High Street (our letters to Southend's older residents explaining how they can access 10 key entitlements provided by the Government went down very well) I headed off to the Christmas Bazaar held by the Triangle Community Group on Sutton Road (see picture with Mother Christmas and her helpers below). It was good fun, not least because of the large range of original games (is the treasure in the muddy swamp?) and I hope a lot was raised for the Community Group's work, including the giving of Christmas presents to local children and the occasional household work for those unable to do it themselves.
So, for all the news of tough times for particular people that we may know, there does remain hope in the future, in the true spirit of Advent.
