Over two months ago my mother had a fire in the house which destroyed most of one bedroom and covered the whole of upstairs in thick black smoke, resulting in all the upstairs furniture having to be thrown away due to smoke damage. This included warm bedding, and also a lot of clothes, many needed now for the winter.

She is almost 76 and still working. Despite working she is on a low income so could not afford house contents insurance. The house is rented and the landlords have covered the cost of restoring upstairs and laying a new carpet down, but it's up to us to find the furniture for the whole of upstairs. I had been living here at the time of the fire and we both found ourselves homeless after, and are currently staying with some amazingly helpful friends who have opened their home to us. But we do not know if we will have a home to go back to in time for Christmas or what we will do. The whole experience has been very difficult for us both, but particularly traumatic for my Mum; Brenda, and as a result she has been suffering from severe stress and anxiety and has been signed off work until she can go back to her house.

I too am currently on a low income and setting up a business, so although I am able to give her my time to sort out all the stuff that needs to be done, I am sadly not able to help provide her with the funds she needs to get her home furnished before the winter. It will be a lovely surprise for her if I can get it ready and make it a home again in time for Christmas, but I need a bit of help 😊

Any help that you can offer will be a blessing to us.

Thanks
Beth and my lovely Mum; Brenda