Christine Carter

Christine is a very cheerful, modest, quiet, active, very sprightly, sharp minded 84 years old. She retired at 60 from her job as seamstress at Merton College in Oxford. She and her husband Nick then took on more and more volunteer work at the Oxsrad sport for all centre which encourages disabled and able sports people to train together and is near to their home in Oxford. My dad became the buildings manager and mum helped to run the boot sales and the cafe, also lending a hand to set up fetes or any other occasion that happened to come along. We often said that they were at home more when they were at work. She and dad also helped to run the weekly Oxford Town Hall tea dances, dad, a musician, providing the music and mum helping to run it and to again make the teas. The tea dance raises funds for the Oxford Town Hall Old People`s Christmas Parties, entertaining hundreds of pensioners, treating them to a Christmas Dinner, dancing and a free raffle with prizes donated by local businesses. My father died of cancer 10 years ago, but mum has carried on, waiting on pensioners who are sometimes many years younger than herself, although she is now made to stop when dinner is served and sit on the top table with the other dignitaries, usually moaning all the way that she should be helping to serve tea or clear tables. My mother would not think that she has done anything out of the ordinary, but we are very proud of her and would love to see her work recognised.