Seldom have I been so wonderfully surprised as I was when I arrived at our Pioneering Care Centre, or ‘PCP’. The Mayoress and I arrived unannounced to the PCP and were greeted by the Chief Executive, Carol Gaskarth, who gladly took us on a short tour of the Easter Extravaganza activities. What a wonderful surprise we were in for as we entered through the rabbit hole.
As the door opened we were greeted by a beautifully set up table, glamorous in itself, but more was to come in the form of characters from Alice in Wonderland. My eyes were drawn first to Alice, beautifully portrayed by Bev, then was the Mad Hatter, himself resplendent in his hat declaring boldly a price tag of 10/6p. David, a centre volunteer, really looked the part.
Of course, all of the characters were there including Bethany the White Rabbit (aka Easter Bunny) and Sienna as the Queen of Hearts. The Mayoress and I were spellbound at the attention to detail from the oversized playing cards to the massive toadstools on display.
It has been several years since I had occasion to read the book but I marvelled at the supersized clock and just couldn’t believe what a scene was before me. Time to allow in the children and what a pleasure to see their faces aglow as only children can be. Carol, ever the wonderful host, then led us out to spend a few minutes and a couple of pounds at the tombola before inviting us for a cup of tea from the café.
As ever with old friends we passed a pleasant while catching up on events in the town and we got an update on progress at the PCP. Carol then had a great surprise for us and took us back through the rabbit hole in time to hear Alice and friends reading a wonderful story to the children who were mesmerised and, to be honest, so were we.
Carol said, “Bev, one of our receptionists, is the creative genius behind PCP’s wonderful Alice in Wonderland set and every detail was marvellous. We are always delighted to welcome the Mayor and Mayoress as well as lots of children from the town, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the Easter Event!”
After congratulating the cast, and having photos, we bade our farewells but pledged that we would return soon.
Mayor Ken & Mayoress Elaine Robson.