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Another week another Coach Trip this time 20 families 30 adults and 58 children enjoyed a lovely day in Southsea. The trust paid £2,000 for the coach hire and lunch in the fantastic Beach Club restaurant on the seafront.

We had an amazing day with our 53 Ukrainian friends today even the predicted bad weather stayed away.

We had an early start leaving Wantage at 6.30 am but we made good time reaching London by 8.30 am despite the rain along the route.

We had a fantastic tour of the Houses of Parliament our guide Princeton was an encyclopedia of knowledge. So amazing to see the House of Commons we’ve all seen on TV and House of Lords and hear the history. Both houses look so much smaller in real life especially the House of Commons because Winston Churchill wanted a loud raucous room when it was rebuilt so he could look the opposition right in the eye whilst debating. Lots of beautiful art and sculptures of historical political figures and kings and queens.

We then had a lovely walk-through St James Park which everyone enjoyed.

We also stopped off near Buckingham Palace for everyone to jump out of the coach and take some pictures.

Then it was off to the Natural History Museum which is breathtaking. So much to see you’d need all day. Being the summer holidays, it was busy but still enjoyable although very hot. Incredible exhibits everywhere you looked.

We all boarded the coach home at 4 pm tired but very happy. Our Ukrainian friends all said what a brilliant and beautiful day they’d had. Hopefully, we took their minds off the horror of what was happening in their homeland for a few hours, all the smiles and laughter certainly suggested that. A huge thank you to the Ruby & Will George Trust for funding this day trip.

SLAVA UKRAINI

Glory to Ukraine

Fantastic afternoon at The Vale Academy Character & Citizen Awards at Williams F1 HQ.

21 students received their Platinum Awards from the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire for all their incredible hard work in the last year.

The Ray Collins Charitable Trust is extremely pleased to be a Partner of this wonderful initiative.

I was very proud and privileged to be invited to my old primary school this afternoon representing the Ray Collins Charitable Trust a partner in the King Alfred Academy Citizen Awards to hand out over 100 Citizen Award certificates and badges. The recipients of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards had worked extremely hard to achieve their awards. Helping others, Making a Difference, Being kind, Raising funds, and stepping outside of your comfort zone is a large part of the awards. It was a real pleasure to see so many talented and joyful students rewarded for all their endeavors.

Well done to Wantage CE and King Alfred’s Academy for such a great initiative.

On Sunday June 4th the Wantage Carnival took place in the Market Place. A fantastic day bathed in beautiful sunshine.

A huge thank you to all the bands, The White Lakes, Growler, Horizon, Mother Girth, and the always fantastic Oxfordshire Rock Choir- for a brilliant and energetic performance. Also thanks to JT Productions for the PA system. The Wantage Silver Band for leading the parade and a wonderful performance, Grove Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, and the Rock Choir for taking part in the parade. Unfortunately, a couple of groups had to pull out last minute but hopefully, we will have more community groups next year marching along.

All the traders and community groups had a great day and thank you to the thousands of people who attended, smiled, sang, danced, and had fun all day long. It was a truly wonderful atmosphere all day.

We also had our lovely new Mayor Cllr Angela Dunford open the event.

We were approached by dozens of people complimenting the event, the music, the funfair and stalls, and most of all the amazing atmosphere – it was Wantage at its best.
All the trustees and volunteers worked for months and some spent 14hrs at the event making sure all went well and everyone was kept safe. No event is ever perfect and our costs (like everything and everyone else) have risen again this year with the event costing over £5,000 to put on.

We always hope to make a profit and every pound we raise will go back into the community and to helping those most in need.

Thank you to all for helping us to keep
“making a real difference in our community”

We are hoping to run four day trips this summer…. two for disadvantaged families, one for those living in isolation, and one for Ukrainian families living within our community.

Without your support, we are unable to continue the work for our community, if you are able to please Donate – it is greatly appreciated by all.

Some photos of the day below….