Moment a group of seriously ill children met Santa on VIP trip
SERIOUSLY ILL children and their families had a VIP trip to remember in London this week as some Christmas magic came early.
There were moments of wonder and excitement as Santa came to surprise them during their visit to the State Rooms in Parliament.
The Dreams and Wishes charity took nine children to the House of Commons before a special trip, escorted by soldiers from the Welsh Guards and Queen’s Dragoon Guards in full ceremonial outfits and three princesses, on the London Eye.
The children were Harry Jenkins, seven, from Port Talbot and his mum, Deborah; Jack Silcocks, nine, from Newport, and his mum, Sam; sevenyear-old Roman Davies and his mum, Gemma, from Bridgend; Sonny Jones, seven, and his mum, Jessica, from Dinas Powys; five-year-old LaiahRose Palmer and her dad, Mike, from Newport; Eleri Shearn, eight, and her mum, Becki, from Caldicot; five-yearold Nancy Kent and her dad, Ian, from Merthyr Tydfil; Eryn Gough, five, from Tonyrefail, her mum, Rhiannon Hill; and three-year-old Olivia Finch with her mum, Kelly, from Port Talbot.
The group had lunch with Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay
Hoyle and his wife, Catherine, with a very special appearance from Mr Claus, who had brought along some wonderful presents for the children, who have all had a tough year of hospital visits and stays. Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “Opening up the State Rooms to children being cared for by the Dreams and Wishes charity has gladdened the hearts of every Speaker since Bernard Weatherill – and today was no exception.
“My wife and I were honoured to welcome nine seriously ill young people to Speaker’s House with their parents – and to witness their excitement when they were greeted by soldiers from the Welsh Guards, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards – and
Father Christmas.” It is the 31st year that Tony Curtis MBE has organised for the charity to take a group of children receiving treatment to London, but there was some disappointment that it was the first time in 20 years that the group was not invited to visit Downing Street.
Tony said: “I have been doing this trip each year for the past 31 years. As usual, the children and their families were just absolutely amazing. Events like this are things that we will never forget.”
Harry’s mum, Deborah, who celebrated her birthday on the same day as the trip, said: “As parents we have this bombshell dropped on us, but the charity makes it so much easier for us, and we want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts. We had the most wonderful day making memories with our children. Seeing their faces when Santa was giving out the presents was just magical.”
Seven-year-old Roman said that the best bit about the day was “the presents”, while five-year-old Nancy “loved the princesses” who had been waiting to greet them in the House of Commons and accompanied them to the London Eye. The last word was from five-year-old Eryn, who when asked to describe her day said it was “phenomenal”
For more information on Dreams and Wishes, visit https://www. dreamsandwishescharity.org/