Back in August I spent a few weeks volunteering for Care4Calais working with refugees.

The joy and appreciation that a simply luxury like a football, or even time spent caring was abundantly clear, even after just one afternoon.

Scroll forward several months, I am home in dreary rainy pre-lockdown England complaining and taking my privilege and freedom for granted once again.

Christmas is coming up and times are hard for everyone, I know but it doesn’t cost a lot to try and make the world a slightly better place.

Over the channel as winter draws in, reports are coming in of refugees having their tents confiscated at an alarming rate. Now simply helping them out is being slowly criminalised.

I saw for myself many refugees, many teenagers, sleeping under tarpaulin sheets, tied to industrial estate fences. That was back in the summer.

This picture was taken at a Refugee cmapign site I volunteered at, exactly when I was there.

Imagine how that feels now in the freezing cold rain.

This is happening. I have seen it myself.

TENTS WILL be needed but now, winter coats ( preferably hooded )would help keep the icy cold rain of their backs. There was a preference for simplistic dark coats from the guys in the camp, I think this was likely so they wouldn’t stand out and risk further harassment from French authorities and anyone else who might want to give them a hard time.

If you cant spare the cash, the no dramas - Care4Calais are doing a Coats4Calais campaign.

£20 gets someone a coat for winter. Simples.

I mean, the cheapest Winter coats in Primark is something like £15! So enough donations can send as many of these over to Calais as possible. Ideally before the harsh weather kicks in properly.

If I can’t get them over due to lockdown complexities then I will make sure the money gets to the right place.

YOUR donations WILL help and I will make sure to prove that to you.