Day 16 - the end (sadly) is in sight

And so it had to happen. The shoebox stream that had been in flood at times became a trickle. The vans went out on their last scheduled collections or in search of any late arriving boxes. But this did not mean that the warehouse was quiet and everyone stopped for a long tea break. Oh no, not at all!!

In the morning, an improptu knit and natter session started up as volunteers finished off those last bits of sewing and knitting, for ever boosting the filler numbers.

There was also a very healthy shoebox covering school in preparation for the possibility of making up our own shoeboxes with the remaining fillers.

The warehouse "rule" is that we will make up and send as many shoeboxes as possible, at the end of the campaign, providing that we have a) the correct type of fillers for a fair box and b) enough donated money to cover the transport of the shoeboxes.

So everyone was busy until after lunch and when the final calculations of all the donated money were done, we were amazed that we were able to make up an extra 142 boxes!!! Fantastic!

Heather was put in charge of empty shoebox allocation to ensure that everyone knew what they were making up, (2-4 year old boxes first then 10-14s) - single file please, and form an orderly queue!

This went really well with everyone making good use of all the remaining fillers, and glad to have an opportunity to send some of the beautiful items that still remained on the tables.

Today's volunteer is a familiar face to many as he is the caretaker at St Saviour's Church. Mike Ellis is a dedicated volunteer, giving up one week of his holiday each year to come to the warehouse. He normally times it for the last week of the campaign which generally means he is on hand to help with the loading the lorry. And tomorrow will be no exception! But even if there isn't a lorry in sight Mike is more than happy to help out in whatever way he can. For him OCC is another expression of his Christian faith and a way he can put service into practice every day. Great to see you again Mike, we'll definitely need you tomorrow!

So Ted, where do we find you on the last night in the warehouse? In the kitchen? On the filler table? No, just sitting quietly and studying the list of possible bear names. For tomorrow is a "beary" special day, as we'll all find out what Ted's real name is going to be.

See you tomorrow!