Although slightly different than in previous years, Hadleigh residents are invited to still enjoy a special Christmas Day lunch, chat and gift on the 25th.

Simon Thompson, who runs Hadleigh Christmas Present Trust's annual get together, has drawn up an alternative way of making sure those who need a meal or some company, even if it is for a short while, don't miss out.

Almost 100 people have been enjoying a party at the Ansell Centre since 2015 but the pandemic has meant that just cannot happen this year although the kindness will continue.

Simon explained: "At the Ansell Centre we are up close and personal and sharing the whole whole business of Christmas. As much as we would love to still do that, we just can't do it.

"We knew there was no way in the world we could offer the same thing safely, but if people wanted a traditional meal we knew we could carry on with that.

"They will also be given a small present bag, and the idea is that the volunteer who goes to the door, spends a little bit of time having a chat, saying happy Christmas and just having that little bit of personal contact."

Volunteers are happy to go beyond just Hadleigh and will go out to the surrounding villages, even just for one or two people. But they do not venture into Ipswich, as that is already well catered for.

"We want to reach a many people as need this," said Simon. "Not just in Hadleigh but out in the surrounding villages too. We even had someone from East Bergholt and another in Boxted last year. So we will go further."

With turkeys supplied by the Jolly Meat Company and are prepared and cooked by Mark David of the Cooking Experience, there are still plenty of patties and vegetables to be peeled and prepped, so it is all hands into the tiny kitchen.

Simon and his crew will start prepping at the Ansell Centre of Christmas Eve, then start again the next morning at 8am to start cooking. Last year they cooked 115 lunches, but this year they are anticipating delivering between 60 and 80 meals.

The initial idea came about by his wife Sarah, and Customs Officer Simon, who enjoys cooking as a hobby, was confident he could cater for large numbers and the scheme was started.

He said: "Plenty of groups do these type of events, putting on lunches, befriending, that sort of thing, but what tended to be the case was that people were sorting things out for the elderly or the homeless. There was very little around for people who feel let down at Christmas.

"Although they are necessarily alone they lose their support network on Christmas Day. For example we have many forces families around Hadleigh who are from different parts of the country, or even the world, as so on Christmas Day all their friends from the forces go off to see their own families, so that support network has gone.

"There is a societal pressure on people to be with someone on Christmas Day, even Boris has said they are relaxing the rules so people can be with people on Christmas Day. That piles the pressure on people, so we decided to open it up and said to people 'if you can't be with family or friends on Christmas Day then let us know and we will invite you to a big party'.

"What we normally do is have a large number of volunteers to serve, or help in the kitchen, or meet and greet and to talk to people. That is the biggest thing, to talk, many people just want a bit of company.

"Usually, we mix and match so you may not even realise who is a guest and who is a volunteer. Yes, some will be of a certain age and they may have lost a partner, or are living alone.

"We also get younger people, the youngest we have had is a two-year-old, that was the same year as we had a 95-year-old. The two-year-old was superb in the way she mixed with people and was incredibly good, the older guests loved her running around."

The Christmas Present Trust is a not for profit organisation and usually raise funds by holding events, including celebrity autograph auctions, and they rely on generous donations.

"It has been harder this year as we can't hold events but we are blown away by the donations from an incredible amount of groups and individuals in Hadleigh," said Simon.

Anyone from Hadleigh or the surrounding villages interested in receiving a Christmas Day meal should contact Simon: [email protected] or call him on 07778 860267 or 01473 829246.