A CHRISTMAS like know other at the end of a year in which the spirit of the season has been demonstrated across many months and not just a few days around December 25.

The town is coming to the end of the most devastating year that most people can recall.

It has ended with children from schools in the town helping their local community providing an example of the ingenuity shown in the face of unforeseen circumstances.

The Food Bank has been well stocked for its vital task of helping to make sure that struggling families and individuals have food over the holiday period.

Throughout the year the Rev Mark Inglis, vicar of Tenbury and a team of volunteers have been collecting and distributing food.

As well as individual donations, shops in and around the town have been making a contribution. This in a year when for the first time in 70 years the international aid organization UNICEF has found it necessary to provide food aid to children in the UK.

Many businesses have taken steps to show their appreciation of the work of NHS and other frontline workers.

In Tenbury the volunteers had a head start in preparing for the Covid-19 pandemic although they did not know it at the time.

The beginning of the year set the tone for the following months when in February flooding inundated large areas of the town.

Emergency services had to rescue some people from their homes and when the water eventually drained away the extent of the damage became all too clear.

A group know as Teme Tenbury was set up to help and this proved to be one good thing to come out of the floods. IA community support platform was in place when Covid-19 arrived leading to a large scale lockdown in spring an early summer.

Volunteers many people, who faced their own problems through loss of income and jobs, sprang into action.

A prescription collection service was put into place like a military operation. Volunteers also helped to make sure that other vital supplies were provided to people who were isolating.

When schools came back in September, many of them embarked upon projects to support the community. Students from Burford Primary School provided food hampers for the vulnerable.

Children, staff and parents at Lindridge Primary School also refused to be beaten by the virus. Each year the pupils have a non-uniform day in exchange for £1 donation. This year it raised £78.50 from 67 pupils. This money is then used by Joy Powell to buy goodies to fill some seasonal hampers which are raffled off at nativity plays.

This year, no gatherings and 14 beautiful hampers to raffle left a problem that was solved by getting a lottery licence that resulted in more than 1,000 tickets being sold online or to friends and family in just two weeks.