December 2011 / January 2012
IN YOUR BIG
CHRISTMAS
MR TILLY TRIUMPHS AGAIN
NEWSFOUR
Hilarious Christmas disasters: Page 14
Congratulations to Mr. Tilly of Bath Avenue, who creates a wonderland every Christmas. He raises money for a special charity each year, so be sure to contribute to the collection barrels!
Plurabelle Paddlers in Malaysia: Page28
Jedward and the Beanstalk: Page 30
Look what we found! Page 37
THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS F
By Caomhan Keane or some, ‘tis the season to be jolly but for others Christmas is just a further compounding of the hardship heaped upon them by these desperate financial times. So when it comes to lending a hand, in the words of Tesco, ‘Every Little Helps’. One woman doing more than her share is Health and Fitness Consultant Helen Walsh, pictured right, a celebrity trainer, who runs a Christmas Hamper Appeal at the YMCA on Claremont Road in Sandymount. “I was sick about 12 years ago and was watching the ‘Oprah Winfrey Show’ and it was about all these people who had collected stuff for the poor. It had made such a huge difference and I thought I wanted to make a bigger difference,” said Walsh. She started by collecting stuff for older people. “Woolly gloves, luxury tissues, stuff they
had stopped spending money on themselves.” That first year she made 10 to 15 hampers. Then people started knocking on her door. “They started saying, ‘well this family don’t have any food. Or they don’t have this, they don’t have that’. So people started giving me stuff to give to other people.” Last year, she ended up with 149 hampers, each one containing a decent week’s shopping and a Christmas Ham and Turkey. “We give them enough to tide them over for a week to ten days and the money they can save on their shopping is enough to be able to get a toy for a kid, or pay a bill and take the pressure off.” When Walsh started taking part in the actual deliveries two years ago she saw levels of poverty that she didn’t think existed. “I knocked on one door and there was this young woman, her husband who was paralyzed in a car
accident and their two young kids. When we opened the door and handed her the hamper she started to cry. It was three days before Christmas and she opened her fridge and had a Satsuma and a pint of milk in the fridge. I was left with marks on my shoulder and my neck; she was gripping me so hard. “It turns out she had no toys for the kids. And that’s what she was
really panicked over. This was a woman sitting in panic thinking ‘where is it going to come from?’ She couldn’t get out. She was nursing her husband 24/7.” They say pride comes before the fall. In Ireland it can last long after. “We need to keep an eye out for one another,” says Walsh. “If you think a family is in trouble don’t be afraid to knock on the door with a cake, or with something small. Say ‘I cooked a couple of extra mince pies and I made you some.’ We need to stick our necks out more for our neighbours. When someone is in trouble the biggest thing that can be done for them is to show that you notice and that you care.” If you know of anyone who could avail of a hamper this Christmas (or indeed if you could avail of one yourself) or to find out where you can drop off donations for the hamper drive, email Helen, energymanagement@eircom.net