The Essex Area of Cruse Bereavement Care recently managed a small triumph in the face of adversity when the room which had been booked to hold their Annual General Meeting in the Chapter House at Chelmsford Cathedral was locked on the night that they turned up. Undeterred the group, led by their Chairman Professor David Lankshear, switched the AGM to the pleasant grounds of Chelmsford Cathedral and held their meeting in the open on what was, fortunately, a warm evening.
The guest speaker at the event was Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, who is a national patron of the Cruse Bereavement Charity. Mark took the opportunity to show his support for Cruse, which has been going for over 50 years and provides bereavement counselling to those who have lost loved ones.
Commenting on the events of the evening Mark Francois said:
“Due to a mix up, the Chapter House at Chelmsford, which had been booked for the meeting, was not open when everybody arrived and despite several phone calls it was not possible to find anyone to provide access to the room. However, everybody took it in good heart and came up with a rapid ‘Plan B’ which was to hold the meeting in the open. I tried to enter into the spirit of the evening and when the Chairman read out the apologies for absence as part of the agenda, I quipped ‘the man with the key’!
On a more serious note, I have been a national patron of Cruse for some years and they do extremely important work in helping to provide bereavement counselling to people who have suffered the loss of a loved one. If anybody would like to help Cruse, either by making a donation, or by becoming a volunteer councillor, I would very much encourage them to contact Professor Lankshear on 01206 571 908 or via [email protected] to see if they can help.”