A COMMUNITY group has taken its final curtain call as members savoured one last afternoon tea together.
Maggie Hibbit, who has run the Shinfield Baptist Church group for over a decade, enjoyed a farewell to remember at the Christmas event.
Father Christmas was on hand to delight the scores of visitors at the Fairmead Road site, some of whom are residents at nearby care homes.
The church’s pastor, Revd Nathan Hunt, presented Maggie and the organising committee with gifts at the end of a delightful, yet emotional afternoon.
Maggie said: “It’s been an absolute privilege. I’ve been involved with this for 12 years and it’s brought so many people into the church you probably wouldn’t have expected. That was never the motivation really, we just wanted to serve elderly people. They’ve done their bit in the world and now it’s time to give them something back, that’s what we’ve always wanted to do.
“My legs are getting too old, like anyone else. I was that much younger when I first started. With the team, we decided that now was the time to stand down.
“Thinking about them missing [the afternoon tea meet-ups] is what makes me a bit sad and why there have been a few tears. It’s the perfect way to go out and I’m just so overwhelmed.”
She added that she hopes another initiative can continue bringing the same joy the afternoon tea has to senior members of the community.
