Volunteers honoured with royal garden party invite

Two hospice volunteers are set to be honoured at a Buckingham Palace garden party celebrating the work of charities and community groups.

Patricia Allen and Lesley Gould will attend the King's garden party on Tuesday after being invited to recognise their work with Dartford-based charity Ellenor.

The pair, from Gravesend, said they were excited to have the chance to meet the King and Queen at the event after being invited by the Lord Lieutenant of Kent at the end of last year.

Ms Allen, 89, who volunteers as a host at the charity's hospice site, said: "I think I get more from the hospice than I give. My job is to put them at ease and I hope that I'm successful."

She added: "If I get the chance to meet the King and I'm not flabbergasted then I will say how honoured I am to meet him."

As part of her work, Ms Allen's role includes greeting people and providing them with information at the hospice in Gravesend.

In 2016, she was also honoured with the Order of Mercy, an award from the League of Mercy foundation, which was originally set up by Queen Victoria in 1899 to recruit volunteers to help in hospitals.

She added that, despite heading towards her 90th birthday in November, she has no plans of stopping her volunteering work.

Ms Gould, the hospice's chaplain, works to provide holistic support for people using the services at the hospice and it's at-home services.

She said: "My job is to offer spiritual care and to respect each patient's values and beliefs and just be there for their journey."

She added that the invite to the garden party was "so incredible and exciting" and that she would be taking some of the patients at Ellenor with her "in spirit".

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