Dreaming of a Whiting Christmas

Earlier this year, Platform received generous donations in memory of one of its founding steering group members, William Whiting.

Keen to honour his memory, the team designed a celebration day that pulled together his passions; education, theatre and – of course – trains.

On Tuesday, December 5^th, 55 students from Great Malvern Primary School met members of the Platform team at Great Malvern Train Station. A cancelled train meant boarding an earlier one than planned and the students did some impressive walking to arrive in time.

Then, it was all aboard a Great Western Railway service to Worcester Foregate Street. The drizzle on the windows had no luck in dampening spirits, and students enjoyed looking out at the view, chatting with their friends, and getting their tickets stamped. They had already had a rail-safety workshop in school 2 weeks before and all children demonstrated their knowledge by being sensible, confident and safe.

On arrival in Worcester, the team took the students to The Swan Theatre to watch the pantomime; Jack and the Beanstalk. It was a golden time all round, with plenty of laughs, fun, and Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum.

At the end of the show, the students, with the team, made their way to The Pod at Crowngate Shopping Centre to have packed lunches. Hot chocolates were distributed, Christmas music was playing, and there was even a sing-a-long with the students giving a rousing rendition of “Jingle Bells” and “Christmas Cracker.”

It was so rousing – in fact – that it attracted a special guest; Santa! He joined the group just in time to distribute presents to all before they made the return journey – by train – back to school.

Jess Whiting – William Whiting’s daughter – said, “It was wonderful to be part of today’s event in tribute to my Dad, the children were delightful and I could see how excited they were and how much they had enjoyed the day.”

Laura Passey – Y2 teacher at Great Malvern Primary – said, “When Emilie came into our school to explain train safety to the children she was engaging and the children were able to retain the key facts. The children had the best time and seeing santa and receiving presents was a great touch- thank you!”

Emilie Dawson – Learning Development Manager at Platform – said, “I can’t thank everyone involved enough: William’s friends and family for the donations, the incredible staff and students from the school, and the Crowngate Shopping Centre and Worcester Civic Society for free use of The Pod. Huge thanks also go to Heather Cullimore from Severnside CRP, Ann Jenner from GWR, Paul Webster (Santa) from The Community Rail Network, and my phenomenal delivery team for making the day happen.

William is so often in our thoughts, and always in our hearts, and it was so special to be able to deliver a day like this in his memory; he would have loved it.”