On Saturday, December 10, 64 members of the Abergavenny Combined Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club attended a Christmas lunch at Brewers Fayre, Abergavenny.

The lunch took the place of the club’s usual 2nd Saturday of the month breakfast gathering. On this occasion, the Town’s Mayor, Tony Konieczny, was also able to attend, showing his support for the local armed forces community and joining in with the festive fun.

During the event, a raffle was held with all money raised being donated to the local branch of SSAFA, The Armed Forces Charity.

This will be used to further support them in continuing the outstanding work they do for serving military personnel and veterans in the local community, work which the public seldom get to hear about for obvious reasons.

The raffle consisted of over 30 prizes all of which were donated by local businesses and individuals.

After months of planning, the lead for the club, Peter Farthing said that the event “exceeded his expectations”.

The club was founded as a support group in late 2018 and according to Peter, their first breakfast meeting hosted 6 people. The club has since grown exponentially and now has a total of 115 members.

They continue to welcome anyone who is serving in the military or a veteran. If you would like to join the group, simply visit their Facebook page ‘Abergavenny Combined Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club’ and apply to join. Before being permitted to join the club you will be required to answer a few simple questions about your service.

Peter and his team of helpers would like to thank Marcus Ramsdale, the manager of Brewers Fayre and his staff, for their excellent hosting of the monthly breakfast gathering over the last 4 years and for all of their hard work to make this festive lunch such a success.

Further, Peter and his team would like to make special mention to the below local businesses and individuals for their very kind and generous donations towards the raffle, which raised an incredible total of £400 for SSAFA.

Raffle prizes donated by: Morrisons, Julian Tasty Tatoes, Motor Care, Rosie and Izzy’s Café, Barber Shop, Cwtch Café, La Petite Fleur, Wilkinsons, Threesheds Garden Services, Phil Hughes, Shackletons Chemist and Photo Shop, Tracey Cruickshank, Tony Flynn, Sally Ann Waters Well Being, Jean Williams, Tesco, Clare Page, Ivor Rhys Williams, Ricky Smith , From The Heart, Gladrags and Handbags, Spex Direct, Pizzarante, MezzeMe, Regency69, Chockshop, Ted Morris, Brewers Fayre and Cosy Throws.