‘Very nice turnout’ for pancake day fundraiser at Town Church

The Town Church opened its doors for the event at 11am and visitors soon lined up to receive fresh pancakes, cooked to order by chefs from local restaurants.

‘We had a very nice turnout,’ said Guernsey Cheshire Home manager Mary Ellen Carter.

‘From what I’ve counted so far, I think we’ve done better this year than last year.’

The Old Government House, Les Rocquettes, Le Platon and the Cheshire Home itself were among the chefs ready to flip inside the church.

With a variety of options on their menus, from savoury to sweet, including a pina colada offering from Les Rocquettes, it was the traditional lemon and sugar topping that proved popular among the visitors.

‘I thoroughly enjoyed it,’ said Cheshire Home resident Colin Elliston.

The Guernsey Cheshire Home provides residential, outreach, and day care services for islanders living with serious physical disabilities, including multiple sclerosis, spinal injury, strokes, motor neurone disease and arthritis.

This event will raise funds for its residents and services.

Ms Carter thought that the new layout of the event, with tables and chairs set up and the chefs’ positioned deeper into the church, contributed to the busier atmosphere this year, while the sunny weather also made it more accessible for wheelchairs, pushchairs and buggies.

‘We set it up a different way this year,’ she said. ‘More like a little cafe. We also wanted to improve the flow, because it was kind of bunched up by the door before, so we moved it to where it was lighter.’

Ms Carter said the event had ‘a nice atmosphere’ and the chefs were ‘consistently busy and enthusiastic’ – already giving their menu ideas for next year.

‘We also had so many volunteers who made it so great.’ she said.

New to this year was an Easter egg tombola, an initiative from Eve Porter.

Mrs Porter has been a carer for the Cheshire Home for 25 years and came up with the idea as a way to raise money for resident outings and holidays.

‘It’s going really well,’ she said in the morning of the event. ‘There are lots of winners so far.’

With a total of 120 Easter eggs up for grabs, she hoped to fulfil the plans to take a few residents on a shopping trip to the UK for two nights.