Musher Richard reports on sleigh failure on one of Santa’s Chorleywood rounds…
“It was on a wet Thursday evening as we swung into Stag Lane by Chorleywood Primary School that the incident occurred. Children were coming out of the School from a function and Santa was greeting them. As Rudolf pulled away I was aware of a strange grinding noise. Well, I thought it was Rudolf gnashing his teeth at the sight of the Stag Inn and the thought of a quick chat with his friends stabled there. Anyway I thought I should investigate further and on seeing Rudolf’s sad expression I went back to consult with Santa himself. “I seem a bit lopsided” he said and I then noticed that one side of the sleigh was tipped over. Quickly sending one of Santa’s helpers to find Engineer John and Maestro Gerry we waited in the pouring rain (Santa does prefer making these early rounds in Australia where it is warmer and dryer) until Engineer John arrived and announced that the sleigh which of course is supported by magic, was suffering from a case of “Tyreoffitis” which could only be fixed by a trip to the magicians in Rickmansworth on the following morning. Imagine Rudolf’s delight when we decided to stable him overnight in a spare bay at the Stag Inn – a whole night gassing to his friends!
Anyway, the next morning Engineer John managed to get the Tyreoffitis fixed with a liberal injection of gas and rubber and musher Richard joined him to return Rudolf to his stable in Moor Park. The magical support on the sleigh’s other side was also injected just in case the disease spread and the good news was that the magicians did their work for free as it was for Rudolf himself”
Santa and Rudolf awere able to carry on with their visits
‘Musher’ Richard ( Musher in charge of helping Santa keep Rudolf on track while Santa talks to the children) .
Rickmansworth Rotary collected in excess of £4250 from the Santa Street collections this year and their Tesco collection exceeded £600. The monies are distributed between 15 very needy families, and 4 local charity groups (we select a different 4 annually). This year they supported the Watford (and Three Rivers) Mencap, New Hope Trust, the Bowley Charity for Disadvantaged Children, and the Watford and Three Rivers Refugee Project as well as their usual annual donation to the South Oxhey Hostel.