News

Diehard toy fans started queueing outside a shop in Cornwall nearly 24 hours ahead of a huge Christmas giveaway. Harry's Toy Chest in Truro organised the festive giveaway to raise money for Children's Hospice South West at Little Harbour in Porthpean, St Austell.

The event, which took place on Saturday (December 14) saw toy enthusiasts queueing for hours to be in for a chance to win hundreds of pounds in gift vouchers and free Lego in raffle giveaways. It marked owner, Harry Stacey's fifth year on the high street, so he decided to organise a huge event to celebrate.

Not wanting to leave fans

A former soldier has completed a year of challenges to raise money for the children’s hospice where he works.

Matt Norman, operations lead at Children’s Hospice South West’s Charlton Farm Children’s Hospice in Wraxall, set himself eight tough challenges to complete in 2024 to raise money for the charity.

Matt, who joined CHSW in May 2023 after a distinguished army career, kicked off his year of fundraising activities in April with:

• 50km Bridge 2 Bridge Walk from Clifton Suspension Bridge to Pultney Bridge in Bath via the River Avon before finishing at his home in Kingswood.
• He then pulled on

Festive fun and goodies galore were up for grabs at a Bristol shopping centre.

Christmas revellers enjoyed getting in the festive spirit at Willowbrook Shopping Centre in Bradley Stoke as part of its Advent Day initiative.

Each shop in the centre is allocated a day during Advent to hold a community activity.

Staff and volunteers at the centre’s CHSW shop joined the fun, holding a cake sale, tombola and raffle.

The Advent Day also coincided with the scaled down Santas on a Bike event which had to be cancelled due to storm Darragh.

Instead, bikers with their festively decorated machines put

A loving dad is to run the streets of Bath to raise money for the children’s hospice that cared for his daughter for nearly a decade.

Jesse, supported by wife Sue and family and friends, is to take part in the city’s half marathon next March to raise money for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) in memory of their daughter Ella.

After enjoying a problem free pregnancy, Jesse and Sue welcomed baby Ella to the family in 2011. Soon after she was born, the couple realised that little Ella was not hitting her expected milestones.

“Initially we just thought it was a case that every child develops

A much-loved children’s charity shop in Bristol which was forced to close suddenly earlier this year is to re-open – just in time for Christmas.

The Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) Little Steps shop at Zetland Road, Redland, was forced to close immediately on September 23 after the ceiling collapsed.

Repairs have now been carried out and the shop will re-open at 9.30am on December 11.

The shop, which opened in 2014, is a treasured part of the Bristol community and sells only pre-loved children’s items, from prams and buggies to clothes and toys.

CHSW Area Manager Debbie Cheeseman said:

O

A fundraising group from St Austell have raised thousands for local charities.

The Pirates of St Piran are a non-profit, charity fundraising group, who perform all over Cornwall and Devon to raise money.

They are a shanty band who perform traditional sea shanties and original songs in full pirate costume, playing at festivals, pirate events and taverns all across the two counties.

So far they have raised £98,000 for local charities, including Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW), The RNLI and the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust, along with many other causes in their local area.

Captain Swillin’

A quaint Somerset pub – heralded to be one of the most festive in the world – will be lighting up for Christmas once again in aid of charity.

The Queen Victoria Inn in Priddy, run by Mark Walton and wife Debs, will be covered with more than 55,000 lights for the big switch on Friday 6 December.

Mark, who has run the pub for 14 years, and a team of volunteers spend hours covering the cosy, country pub in lights ready for the event. As well as the lights, other features of the eye-catching festive display include a 16ft ‘wine bottle’ tree. The intricate frame of the tree was made by Ben Selway

£35,000 was raised for Children's Hospice South West (CHSW) on Sunday 1 December as the charity returned to the Eden Project for its annual Santas on the Run!

This popular fundraising event saw 780 supporters of all ages kick off the festive season dressed in a range of Christmas costumes, take on the festive 2k route, which included Eden’s Mediterranean biome.

There were festive themed stations which included a Selfie with the Elf, Snow, Song and Treat stations, generously sponsored by local businesses Polymermedics, Naturally Learning, DL Accounts LTD and Steve Andrews Tyres & Autocare

A keen footballer swapped his soccer boots for trainers to complete a 5k run a day throughout November in aid of charity.

Dan from Emersons Green, Bristol, battled his way through driving rain and plunging temperatures to complete the challenge in aid of Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW). Dad of one Dan, who plays left back for Paulton Rovers, had only ever completed a 5k as part of his football training.

“I’m not a keen runner to be fair, but had to do them as part of football training, “said Dan.

Up until this challenge, I’d not done a 5k for around a year. I did a variety of different

Get ready for a wheel-y magical event, because on Saturday, December 7th, Par Market is welcoming a convoy of classic tractors decked out in all their festive finery.

This isn’t just any holiday event – it’s a Festive Vintage Tractor Display brought to you by tractor enthusiasts from across Cornwall who’ve spent weeks transforming their beloved machines into Christmas showstoppers.

Whether you’re a tractor lover, a holiday shopping pro, or just someone looking for a fun day out, there’s something here for everyone. And hey, you might even leave with a bit of unexpected tractor knowledge to