If you settle down to watch “Royal Carols: Together at Christmas”, being shown this Christmas Eve on ITV, be sure to look out for a couple of well known faces from our village.
Attending the star-studded evening at Westminster Abbey, by special invitation from Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, was Ruddington Co-op Member Pioneer Gwen Eyre (above left) who took along Carol Jaggers (right) as her guest. Carol and Gwen co-organise the over 55s coffee morning in Ruddington, whilst Carol has volunteered with Ruddington Girl-Guiding and the local food banks for many years.
“About a month ago my line manager asked me to nominate someone in Ruddington or Clifton who had made a significant difference to the local community – especially during COVID” explains Gwen. “I nominated Wendy White, the manager at the NG11 Foodbank. She was then put forward to attend this very special carol concert at Westminster Abbey. Unknown to me, my line manager also put my name forward!”
All were successful so, earlier this month, Gwen, Carol, Wendy and Sue Hands – who also volunteers at NG11 Foodbank – headed to London to attend the Royal event. Hosted and spearheaded by Kate, The Duchess of Cambridge, and supported by The Royal Foundation, it pays tribute to the work that individuals and organisations have done to support their local communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hour-long, festive special features carols from the world-renowned Westminster Abbey Choir and incorporates musical performances from Leona Lewis and Ellie Goulding. Tom Walker also appears in the broadcast with a special performance of his new Christmas single ‘For Those Who Can’t Be Here’. It includes readings from The Duke of Cambridge, British Paralympian and junior doctor Kim Daybell and Kate Garraway. Poet and writer Lemn Sissay also performs his special composition, ‘To The Day’.
Gwen adds: “I was nominated to go to this event partly for starting the Edible Ruddington project. Not sure our work so far justifies a trip to Westminster Abbey but we aim to make the project bigger and better for 2022. The service was amazing and will be on telly on Christmas Eve. I don’t know if I was filmed, but there were a lot of cameras around and I was quite near some of the action.”
This is the TV trailer…
…and you can watch the full programme on ITV this Friday, December 24th, from 7.30pm.
