The back of the church was full to bursting by 3 December – full of coats, jackets, hats, scarves and gloves, all donated by the people of Aberdeen and sorted and arranged by the people of St. Mary’s. By ten that morning, when the doors were due to open, people had been waiting outside for over half an hour in the cold. They flooded in!

Equipped with their new winter weather gear, our visitors made their way into the choir vestry for tea, coffee and hot baked potatoes – standing room only for a while!
The event was planned to last till three o’clock, but in fact by half past twelve there was not a coat or a glove left to be had, and we had to close up. There was no doubt that the event was much appreciated by our visitors, many of whom stopped for a chat before venturing back out into the cold!