We were honoured to receive two invitations from The Lord Lieutenant of Durham, Sue Snowdon, to attend the ‘Together At Christmas’ carol service at Westminster Abbey. Hosted by HRH The Princess of Wales and dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, with esteemed guests, performances and volunteers from around the country. REfUSE volunteers Maz and Maureen couldn’t have been better people to represent us.

“We had great seats near the entrance alongside others from charities and organisations promoting the importance of mental health, supporting families and creating a fairer and more inclusive society.

The Abbey was spectacular, the atmosphere was full of anticipation, it took our breath away.

The King, the Queen Consort together with the Prince and Princess of Wales and other members of the Royal family arrived and the service began.

In the next wonderful hour we felt pride and love, we cried, we laughed, we were in awe, we had goosebumps, we sang and we celebrated the joy of giving.

To top it all we felt privileged to be there representing Refuse and its fantastic family of volunteers.’’

Maz and Maureen have given so much to our community over a number of years, we were so proud to see them representing REfUSE at such a special event. A huge thanks, too, to Fiona and Phil for driving them down to London and back on a train strike day!