16 December 2009
Father Christmas paid an early visit to the children being treated at Queen Mary's Hospital for Children last week, as he dropped by to deliver some presents.
During the visit, which was organised and funded by the Carshalton Rotary Club, Father Christmas gave away £250 worth of presents, including books, toys and games, to the children staying on the wards.
One of the patients, five year old Lily, was so excited about meeting Santa that she came down from the ward wrapped in a blanket and watched as he arrived. Lily's mum, Becky Quin, said: "Lily's been really excited about meeting Father Christmas all day, and has been on her best behaviour - she even took her medicine!
"I think she really enjoyed seeing him - her eyes lit up when he came onto the ward."
Phil Blake, the chairman of Carshalton's Rotary club said: "Every year, we spend about two and a half weeks collecting money round the streets of Carshalton. It's not the nicest time of year to be outside trying to raise money, but to see the smiles on the children's faces makes it all worth while. It gives us a lot of pleasure to be able to come into hospital and give the children something they can smile about. We would like to thank everyone that has donated money to this great cause."
And that's not the only festive delivery to arrive at our hospitals - Harrods donated and delivered 13 Christmas wreaths, each measuring four feet across. Senior paediatric nurse, Sue Collis said: "They are really beautiful wreaths, and we're incredibly grateful to Harrods for sending them on to us.
"They are huge though - we expected to put them up in paediatric A&E but they're so big we've had to put them up throughout the hospital! They came as a really pleasant surprise and they're just lovely to look at."
