22/12/2023
Shout out from my desk to the team working with FNQ Food, all volunteering their time, skills and determination to display the essence of Christmas spirit. From potatoes to dinner plates, catering for anything is challenging, let alone organising transport, donations, decorations and delivery trucks, etc etc. However, with no infrastructure, no venue, not even a chair, with a four day lead in it is a path for most to insanity. But these guys have taken it in their stride. Jodie Ferrero Claire Howells Sharon Timms Kane Brown Nicole Gibson Bridey Walsh all putting aside their work, their affiliations and in some cases, their families - to do something that might ease just a tiny bit of the pain of our neighbours. There can be no doubting the humanity of those 100s who have joined the mud army and other groups in response to the disaster, whose daily slog tobring help to those who need it most, the group being rallied by Bree James with Sue Fitcher and the force of nature Jo Piggott also should be highly commended. They are all involved not only in cleanup but also in this event. Not all heroes wear capes, some have shovels, gloves, frying pans, clipboards or mobile phones glued to their ears, or just clarity of vision. All are part of a miracle that will last long past Christmas. I can’t help the feeling that if Mary came here, today, no one would let her give birth in a lowly stable. Be proud of these people, not just the headliners, but the rank and file, the broad-shouldered stoics, the weary and reliable - the best of us. Merry Christmas.
