Volunteers bring cheer in St George's Day parade complete with real horse and Pokemon dragon

To mark the feast day of England’s patron saint, volunteers from The Parker Trust and Pallion Action Group took to the streets to give out red and white cupcakes – complete with a real horse from Stef’s Farm, knight costume... and a Pokemon dragon.

The shops were all out of dragon costumes, so a volunteer had to get into a Pokemon costume instead, much to the delight of passersby.

Volunteers at the charities have been at the heart of the Pallion community throughout the Lockdows, reaching out to 4,000 households with a range of support, from picking up prescriptions and doing shopping to delivering activity packs and providing mental health support.

Manager Karen Noble said they wanted to mark the national saint’s day to help bring some smiles to people’s faces and remind them that the charities are still there for them.

As well as dropping off cupcakes for ambulance staff at the nearby hospital, the volunteers walked from The Parker Trust in Kayll Road to Pallion Action Group in E Moor Road handing out cupcakes as they went.

Karen said: “This has been a really hard year for the whole of the country, as well as the world, and for our local residents it’s been really difficult not being able to see other people.

"We went out on VE Day to give out meals to veterans and it really brought some smiles to faces, so we wanted to do something for St George’s Day. It’s shocking that some people don’t even know about it, yet we all know about St Patrick’s Day. We thought the cupcakes would be a nice surprise for people."

Karen say it’s Pallion’s strong community spirit which has helped in these tough times.

"Community cohesion is at the heart of what we do and there is a massive community here, who all help each other,” she said. "The sun is shining, we are coming out of Lockdown, but we want people to know we are still there for them.”

In March a striking mural of Captain Tom Moore was unveiled on the gable end of a house in Pallion as a thank you to the NHS staff who’ve worked hard at the frontline of the pandemic.

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