I HAVE been fortunate in the past few weeks to have attended so many wonderful Christmas events that bring the community in Barry together.

The concerts organised by the Barry branch of the RNLI, and by the Vale Centre for Voluntary Services were very enjoyable and packed with committed volunteers from the local community. The events are a great way to thank the volunteers for their hard work throughout the year. It is at Christmas when we bump into many friends and colleagues that we may not have seen since the year before.

I met Santa, along with many children, for breakfast at the annual St Mary’s Church Christmas tree festival. It is so special to see the looks on the faces of the children when they meet Santa. The Barry Male Voice Choir Christmas concert is another event that is enjoyed by so many, and the volunteers deserve a great deal of credit for the effort that goes into organising all of these events. St Mary’s Church also played host to the Ty Hapus Christmas concert. The charity does so much locally, and I was pleased to support them during the London Marathon earlier this year.

I must pay tribute to the incredible amount of effort made by the volunteers from Barry District Scouts in sorting the thousands of Christmas cards that will be arriving on doormats this week. The group of children and parents at the Smugglers building in Barry have developed such an impressive sorting operation that has been processing and delivering our cards for over 25 years. It is a wonderful example of volunteering that I have been fortunate enough to visit on a number of occasions. I also visited the dedicated team at the Royal Mail Barry delivery office who were remarkably busy with letters and parcels.

What I am mindful of is those less fortunate. Christmas is a time when friends and families get together, but many of us will have neighbours that will be alone on Christmas day, after having been alone all year. Loneliness, particularly amongst the older generation, is a very important issue to me. If you know of someone in need of company, please let me know as many groups exist in Barry and the Vale to provide support for those less fortunate. Finally, I would like to wish all the readers of the Barry and District News a wonderful Christmas and New Year.