Retired science teacher Mike Thompson has a unique role in the history of the East Cheshire Hospice tree collection.
Back in 1998, he suggested giving fellow choristers at St Peter’s Church in Prestbury a £10 note to raise funds for a new organ.
The idea came from a sermon by Revd David Ashworth about the Parable of the Talents, a Bible story of how success is the product of work.
Mike said: “I was listening to the vicar because I like that story. The organ was going downhill and in desperate need of renovation.
“I told my late wife Lis that I was pondering the Talents story, especially as the church needed money. She said, ‘I know what you’re going to say.’
“I suggested giving all 30 of us choir members a tenner to see what we could do with it.
“If we could turn that into £600 then we were on our way to getting a new organ.
A reunion for (from left) Pete Chapman, Mike Thompson, Richard Raymond and Andy Chapman.
“No one came back with just £10. Money-making ideas included giving lifts, baby-sitting, washing cars, sewing and cooking.”
Andy Chapman, then a teenage member of the choir, relayed the story to his mum Heather who suggested collecting Christmas trees. The rest is history.
Some 25 years later more than £2m has been raised for the Hospice by countless volunteers after Andy’s dad Pete founded the scheme with Richard Raymond.
Both men were deservedly honoured with an award by Macclesfield’s Clare Hayward, the High Sheriff of Cheshire, after the latest collection.
Mike was head of science at Tytherington High School from 1970 and became acting deputy head, retiring in 1989 before joining Barracks Fabric Printers.
He made a nostalgic visit from his Anglesey home to join the tree celebrations.
He said: “I did collect in the early days going out on vans with the vicar’s son. It’s nice to be invited back each year and made to feel so welcome.
“Pete and Richard are dynamos – they make me tired just looking at them.
“I’m not surprised the collections have done so well. It’s directed from above – God moves in mysterious ways.”
Andy said: “I probably wanted to spend my £10 in a sweet shop but thankfully mum came up with a much better idea.
“Pete and Richard have made an incredible effort over the years and it’s good to be back for the 25th anniversary.”
