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The final miscreant to join our grisly gallery of #HospiceHooligans is Christina Ewbank, Chief Executive of Eastbourne UnLtd, which is the largest town Chamber of Commerce in the South of England.
During her 23-year-long career with Mercedes-Benz and smart UK, Christina has run dealerships in Chichester, Eastbourne and Brighton and was Regional Manager for Lexus Northern.
She is also CEO of Edeal Enterprise Agency, which provides business support for startups and existing businesses. Christina also runs the Town Centre Management Team, which is responsible for Eastbourne Borough Market and the popular Christmas Market.
On taking part in Jail and Bail, Christina said: ‘The Hospice plays such a crucial role in Eastbourne, and I’m sure almost everyone in the area knows someone who has used their services. I’m delighted to be supporting this event, and doing my little bit to help.’
Eastbourne is home to a whole host of events, parades and markets - which includes Eastbourne Bike Nites, Zombie Walks, Pride Festival, Chinese New Year and the Sunshine Carnival - and Christina’s a vocal supporter of each and every one of them.
However, it appears she might have taken her enthusiasm for last year’s Christmas Market a little too far, as she is to be tried for impersonating Mrs. Claus at the Redoubt Fortress on March 29th.
Although Christina initially took on the role in a professional capacity, it soon worked its way into her personal life.
In December last year, Christina was spotted at several of Eastbourne UnLtd’s networking events in full Christmas regalia, and caused confusion and consternation among colleagues when insisting she would only answer to Mrs. Claus or - at a push - Gertrude.
She was also sighted replacing Mercedes-Benz vehicles at the Eastbourne dealership with a flock of reindeer and spent the entirety of December doing nothing but baking sugar cookies, telling anyone who would listen about how ‘snowed under’ with work Mr. Claus was at that time of year, and talking about ‘elves.’
The charade unravelled when the real Mrs. Claus (first name Phyllis) heard of Ewbank’s antics and stepped forward in January to reclaim her identity; she is reported to be 3,000 years old and in possession of a flying reindeer. The outcome of the case does not look promising for Ewbank.