Santa arrived in Bolsover Marketplace on Saturday 17th December, carried by a fire engine, to distribute presents to the children of the area.
On a very cold and frosty Saturday morning, members of Bolsover Rotary gathered early in Bolsover Marketplace to get everything ready for the arrival of the most important visitor of the season.
The plans included the cooperation of Bolsover Fire Station personnel, who very kindly transported Santa in a fire engine on the last leg of his long journey. They took him on a tour round the town before arriving right on time, at 10am.
A queue of eager youngsters had already formed, and he was kept very busy all morning.
Children of all ages were welcomed onto Santa’s sleigh to talk about what they were hoping that he would leave them on Christmas Eve, and they all received a small gift, as a memento of their meeting, and to help them over the 8 sleeps before the big night.
As usual the people of Bolsover were again very generous in their donations to the Bolsover Rotary’s Charity Trust Fund, which is used to support the community throughout the year.
Later in the day, Santa moved his sleigh (with the help of some Rotarians) up to The Pillar of Rock pub.
We were very lucky also to welcome our local MP, Mark Fletcher, who is an honorary member of the Rotary Club. He took time out of his weekend to support the co0mmunity of Bolsover in this regular and happy event. Later he posted on his Facebook page:
“I had a fantastic time (if a little chilly) out with Bolsover Rotary club in Bolsover marketplace on Saturday. They had hand wrapped over 200 presents to give out to local children who came along to see the big man himself. A little later on Father Christmas, and his elves, relocated up the hill to the Pillar of Rock to partake in a small, well deserved, sherry and mince pie.
“The Rotary club do a fantastic job collecting for their Charity Trust Fund which enables them to support our community during the rest of the year. If you’d like to get involved, help in their work and join many events held throughout the year please do visit their website – https://bolsover-rotary.org.uk“
Many thanks to Mark Fletcher MP for his support and for the use of his pictures of the day.