Decking the Halls at Turnchapel

Andy Kerslake, Capability Manager at Land Registry – who are based at Derriford – explained how they ended up helping: “All government departments are able to do volunteering as part of being a civil servant. You get days to go out and help in the community and do things.

“We got a call a couple of weeks ago just to say, ‘Can you help?’ So a few of us rallied to the call and came out. It’s a great way of getting out into the community, helping the local community.”

For Andy, it was his first time in a hospice, however it was not at all what he had expected.

“It’s my first time at a hospice…I’ve done a lot of things for St Luke’s before and Children’s Hospice Southwest as well, but not actually visited one of the sites. So, it’s good to come here. It’s a lovely place. It’s really welcoming and it’s got a nice feel about it.

“I know definitely one, if not more of my former colleagues have had end of life care with yourselves in the past. So it’s nice to be able to give something back to come and help a little bit.”

For many of the families we support, Christmas can feel like a particularly difficult time, so the team were glad they could play their part in bringing a bit of Christmas cheer to the building.

“Hopefully it might just bring a bit of joy, some lightness to what can be a dark time,” Andy adds. “It’s been really nice to see the effect we’ve had already. Even a little bit of decoration makes a big difference to the feel of the place and hopefully, families and people who are here receiving care will enjoy it.”