THE SEASONAL sounds of Christmas and aromas of street food will fill Aston Fields when a festive fund-raiser is held in memory of Bromsgrove student Tom Jones.
The event on Tuesday, December 17, has been organised by Ben and Victoria Ascott from Ascott’s and Fuso.
He said: “It all started when people were saying to us that Aston Fields needed a Christmas tree.
“We put a 20ft one up outside our restaurant and then people were saying we needed a choir singing carols around it.”
As Bromsgrove’s Got2Sing choir had already performed at Ascott’s, Ben asked if they would sing carols around the tree and they agreed.
Got2Sing will perform from 7.15pm to 8pm and either side of the choir will be musician Ryan McMey (6pm) and singer Alex Leo (8pm).
Things snowballed as more businesses got involved and No. 3A coffee shop, the Ladybird Inn, Banners and The Golden Fry will all open, along with Ascott’s and Fuso which will also have an outside bar.
There will also be street food, mulled wine and mince pies.
Alex said: “It has turned into a kind of seasonal street party and I thought that if we had all these people here we should raise funds for a charity.”
Ben chose to hold the event in memory of Tom, who was a chef at the eatery. Tom drowned last September in the River Severn in Worcester after a night out and since then his parents Vicki and Ian have been supporting West Mercia Search and Rescue (WMSR) – the charity where the funds from Tuesday will go.
The couple spoke last month at a Bromsgrove District Council meeting about WMSR’s ‘Home and Dry’ campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of rivers and so other parents would not have to go through what they have.
For more on the event, visit the Ascott’s and Fuso’s Carol Service’ Facebook page.
Visit westmerciasar.org.uk/homeanddry for more information on the ‘Home and Dry’ campaign.
