A SEDBERGH pub will be extending a welcoming hand to homeless, disadvantaged & vulnerable veterans ahead of Christmas.

The Dalesman Country Inn, has been working over the last two weeks to support local people and helping charitable causes, including the ‘Christmas for Veterans’ initiative.

After meeting with local farmer, armed veteran, and charity fundraiser Brian Capstick in 2017, who also supplies The Dalesman with beef produced up the road on his farm, the idea of the ‘Christmas for Veterans’ was born with Mike and his partner Hannah.

Mike said, “I’ve always been fascinated listening to Brian speak about his experiences of serving in the Army and admired his selfless work supporting veterans in need. In the early December of 2017, we were chatting about ways to potentially help veterans during Christmas and I offered the use of The Dalesman.

“I don’t think Brian thought I was serious because he rang me the next day to ask if I had meant what I’d said”.

On December 24, 2017, The Dalesman welcomed 16 homeless veterans that would have otherwise spent their Christmas sleeping rough. On arrival they were greeted with a home-cooked meal and spent a further two nights with the team until Boxing Day.

The Dalesman has welcomed veterans at Christmas every year since, until the pandemic prevented them from opening in 2020.

Members of the community bring gifts such as toiletries, home-made jam and children’s toys which are wrapped and carefully allocated to each recipient. As well as a warm and relaxing place to spend Christmas, the veterans can enjoy home-cooked meals including Christmas Dinner, open their gifts and enjoy a walk around Brian’s farm for some fresh air.

Mike said, “It’s changed Christmas for me, forever. It’s something very special to be able to do and I wouldn’t go back.

“One year we welcomed a gentleman that found it too difficult to sleep in a bed. He’d forgotten how to embrace comfort and we found him sleeping in his car. He had almost given up on life but after the stay with us, he told me how we’d made him realise what being a part of a community can be like.

“Over the years we’ve seen what those 48 hours can do for some of the individuals. Many of them just want somebody to listen to them.

"They see how the community in Sedbergh comes together and they don’t feel so isolated; it gives them hope.

"It’s very heart-warming to see and it’s a testament to the strength of the community here, which has served us well during the pandemic.”

Brian Capstick, Co-Founder of the Christmas for Veterans initiative said, “The Dalesman does charity in the traditional sense.

"When family time is so precious and opportunities to make serious money are in front of them, they recognise that Christmas is a very lonely time for the most vulnerable and for many it is a time of financial pressure.

"By blocking out their rooms for our veterans and their families, they absorb tangible lost revenue, they give up their precious family time and they look for nothing in return.

"Coordinating with the local community to make sure that kids have presents to open and then to sit with them and make them feel part of their family over Christmas Dinner is something very special.”

2021 will be the fourth year of running Christmas for Veterans and Mike, Brian and their supporters hope to continue the tradition for many years to come.

For information contact info@thedalesman.co.uk.