North East charity sparkling with over 200,000 Christmas lights!

The annual Christmas Lights switch-on at Daft as a Brush Cancer Patient Care has taken place at their HQ in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne.

A candle precession of Cubs and Beavers from Newcastle and Northumberland Scouts walked along the Great North Road to Daft as a Brush House, led by The 102 REME Pipe Band.

Christmas carols and festive favourites will be played by the Salvation Army Band and special guests Professor Sir John Burn, Chairman of Newcastle NHS Foundation Trust and Chief Constable for Northumbria, Winton Keenen where there to support the dazzling display.

It’s fantastic to be here with so many Cubs and Beavers supporting this local charity, said Michael Wood-Williams, Scouts County Commissioner. “So Many lights, what a fantastic start to the festive season.”

Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, Winton Keenen “Look at the 200,000 lights around us, each representing a cancer patient journey, giving support to someone who really needs it, representative of the North East spirit, and it shows what Daft as a Brush does for their local community; that real betterment when people really need it and what a privilege it is to be involved tonight.”

Traditional carols were played by the Salvation Army Band with members of the local community, Scouts, Cubs, Beavers and charity volunteers joining the seasonal sing-along.

Charity Founder, Brian Burnie, is delighted with the display; “After the storm damage by Arwen, It’s been a challenge to get the display back to it’s finest, but the team have really pulled out all the stops to make this happen.

It’s such a pleasure to have Sir John and Winton support us with hundreds of Cubs, Beavers and visitors. Volunteers drove passed Daft as a Brush House with a precession of our Ambulances, what a moving occasion – A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible.”

This year, the festive presentation has expanded to the rear garden of the charity’s head office in Gosforth. Walls, fences and trees have all had the Christmas make-over. Brian estimates over 200,000 lights adorn the building.

Each light represents a cancer patient journey the charity has completed since starting the service, a decade ago.

From a single ambulance, the team now boast a fleet of 40 vehicles and over 400 passionate volunteers. Throughout the pandemic, their free transport service has been fully operational, helping cancer patients get to and from hospital for their vital Chemotherapy and / or Radiotherapy treatment.

Watch the short film of the ‘Switch-on’ event and discover more at: www.DaftasaBrush.org.uk