How do you sell raffle tickets in a socially-distant way?

With difficulty!

The Friends of St Chad’s and Chilcompton Surgeries pressed on regardless.

I am very proud of the combined efforts of the committee members, and grateful to donors – particularly The Old Down Inn at Emborough, and Mitchard & Sons, the butcher in Westfield.

We also want to thank everyone who bought tickets.

We had planned to pull the winning tickets for our annual Christmas Raffle at the Old Down Inn and then enjoy a pre-Christmas coffee and mince pie together.

Well, it wasn’t to be, but as the Old Down had donated a meal for two people, mine host, Maxine, kindly agreed to pull the draw for us in a socially-distanced manner, even though the Inn is sadly closed at present.

We have all been so careful. Prizes and tickets had all been in quarantine for well over a week. All prizes have now been delivered.

If you didn’t win with the raffle, you could always try our 100 Club – three prizes each month to be had there. Message me via either surgery if you are interested.

The Friends will continue to raise funds to provide equipment for the benefit of our patients, which is not normally provided by the NHS.

In the meantime, we wish Journal readers a healthy and peaceful 2021 and say a huge thank you to all the staff in our

surgeries and in the wider NHS for their commitment this year.

Jenny Evans, Chair, Friends of St Chad’s and Chilcompton Surgeries.