Poorly children at North Devon District Hospital have day brightened by visit from panto cast

Three panto stars visited the Caroline Thorpe ward at the hospital.

The stars of Jack and the Beanstalk, which is on at The Queen’s Theatre in Barnstaple, visited the Caroline Thorpe ward on Monday.

Charlie Vose (Jack), Brian Weston (squire) and Andrea Lynette-Young (Fairy Blossom) all donned their outfits and stopped off at the hospital to talk with the children.panto

Brian, who helped deliver presents on the ward last year, said: “It’s great to be back in North Devon, back in panto at the Queen’s Theatre and also to be returning to the Children’s Ward at North Devon District Hospital to bring a little bit of Christmas magic to the poorly children.

“I know myself and the others have been really looking forward to the visit and also want to thank the staff on the ward there who work so hard to make these children better.”

Kemal Tas’ daughter was on the ward during the visit, after suffering feeding problems. When the panto cast visited he was there with his other daughter, two-and-a-half year old Selina Tas, who played with the cast.

Kemal, from South Molton, said it was a nice surprise for his daughters. “This unit has a lot of poorly children so it is nice to have this visit at Christmas time,” he added.

Jan Braund, senior staff nurse on the ward, was working on Christmas Day and said everyone tried to make it as Christmassy as they could for the children. “I work on Christmas Day every other year,” she said. “We try and make it as best we can for the children and their parents. We try to discharge as many children as we can but the more poorly children have to stay in.

“Father Christmas came to visit and Christmas dinner was served and we tried to make it as Christmassy as possible under the circumstances.”

Story courtesy of Francesca Taffs – North Devon Journal