Thursday 21st June was a great day for us here at Caring For Life; we had a visit from our Patron Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex.

Our farm was pretty busy on the days prior to the visit. We were not only preparing for a royal visit and a fundraising banquet, but also for our Open Day and a week’s training conference! A special marquee was erected, a foundation stone was ordered and prepared for a stone laying ceremony by our Patron, and a plaque was also ordered for The Countess to unveil in celebration of our new kitchen, the CFL Catering Academy facility.

The weekend prior to the visit saw some terrible rain and storms, and everyday throughout the week we prayed for good weather. The day finally arrived and our prayers were answered. There was a light breeze, but no rain!

2:50pm arrived and so did our Patron, exactly on time. Peter and Esther introduced her to various guests, including James and Juliet Barker, two very good friends of CFL, and also a trustee of The Wessex Youth Trust, a foundation that has supported Caring For Life very generously. It was also a joy to welcome back the Lord Lieutenant, Dr Ingred Roscoe, who is a great friend to all at CFL.

The Countess was then shown to the site of our New Adult Learning Centre. A special platform had been prepared for a stone laying ceremony, where our patron would place the foundation stone of the building. Our architect and representatives of Wates Construction explained the plans and where various rooms would be in the site area.

The Countess then proceeded to the new kitchen where she saw the gas oven and griddle in place, equipment which The Wessex Youth Trust had funded and Her Royal Highnessunveiled a commemorative plaque.

The marquee was next on the stop, where those in our care were ready to meet the Countess.

On entering the area, the Countess receive a huge cheer. She was led around the room and those who were able shook her hand and spent some time talking with her. For all, it was a very special time.

It is always lovely to see how Her Royal Highness is so warm and gentle with those in our care, many of whom have suffered horrifically and have rarely heard kind words or expressions of care.

Our Christmas parties are times of great enjoyment, which involve people from different projects performing drama routines, singing and dancing, reciting poems and lots more. We really wanted to give a sense of these occasions for our Patron, so after meeting everyone, she was ‘treated’ to a special performance.

The drama group performed an excerpt from William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night's Dream”, brilliantly performed by those on the project and led by Joanna and Michael. CMP then performed a funny dance followed by a singing routine, which brought much laughter for everyone. Michael Wild performed his popular act of singing ‘George Gershwin’, Thea recited a very funny short poem and Joseph sang ‘I’ll Fly away’. It was a very special private performance.

The Countess at that point had enjoyed the performance so much that she requested it be repeated at the evening banquet! This was a tremendous privilege, and the short ‘revue’ was very much enjoyed by all present.

The Countess then very kindly stood for a photograph with the whole group, before leaving CFL, to allow time for final preparations for the banquet.

It was a tremendous time with our Patron that day, a day when some deeply damaged people will always remember meeting with and even performing for a member of the royal family.