VE Day 80th Anniversary party

Earlier this month, we held a celebratory event to mark 80 years since VE Day (the end of World World II).

Many of our residents made huge sacrifices in the war effort, in many cases losing loved ones and risking their own lives for a better future for generations to follow.

We marked the occasion with a day-long party, stopping at 1pm to observe a minutes’ silence for those we lost. A booklet with stories of local people was shared with all those who attended and we also had displays around the Centre, sharing their stories.

Stories of local people from VE Day 1945

We followed a delicious lunch with music, dancing and a Bingo game, where Mrs Ramesh Verma OBE - Former EKTA Project CEO - won £25 as our overall winner! Many others also won prizes in the raffle, which helped us to raise money to continue delivering our services.

Special thanks goes to our Admin Manager, Jackie, for working super hard to make this happen. Thanks also to Bhavani, Colin and Amina, who supported on the day, working hard to make sure everyone had a great time!

Following this event, we were very touched to receive some lovely reports on the event from some of our groups who attended to join in the celebrations. You can read these reports below:

Behnu Ki Milan's report on the event -

We attended this event to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day and the food was very nice, catering for everyone, including halal and vegetarian options.

The welcome at the Centre was very good, and they gave us all free Bingo tickets! We could also buy tickets for the raffle and there were loads of gifts to be won. The game was very enjoyable. Lots of people did win quality prizes and were very happy.

Lots of lovely quality prizes!

There were lots of snacks - samosa, pakoras and more - as well as teas, coffees and drinks - provided before the lunch at 1pm, which was burgers (burgers, chicken burgers or vegetable burgers) and chips.

There was a one minute's silence just before we ate, which everyone respected and took part in. Then after lunch, there was lots of music, singing and dancing, and everyone had a wonderful time.

The event was very well organised, with seating and groups arranged thoughtfully. Jackie and Paul organised a wonderful day and can take credit for the event's success! Thank you for a very nice day of remembrance.

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Report from Mrs Ramesh Verma, CEO, EKTA Project -

This event was attended by people of all ages and abilities. It was a great joy to see all enjoying and taking part in various activities enjoyed by the staff and volunteers. The music attracted all to dance, and the Bingo and Raffle gave many chances to win beautiful prizes.

Tea, coffee and soft drinks, along with delicious snacks, were served right from the beginning of the event. It is worth mentioning that the centre was very

beautifully decorated with buntings and balloons in Union Jack - colours of Britain's pride.

All present had a great enjoyable day and went home after a very delicious dinner with hands full of prizes they had won!

The credit for the success of the event goes to Jackie, the Office Admin Manager, Bhavani, the Finance Officer and Pastor Collins, who kept all in excitement by his loud voice, while announcing winners of the prizes. It was another successful event of the year.

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Otthulaippu group's report on the event -

We celebrated the 80th year of celebrating victory in Europe (VE) day with a party at Trinity Centre on 10th June 2025.

The successful party was oversubscribed, with over 80 attendees from

different community groups all coming together. The party commenced with the

day centre being beautifully decorated by the Trinity Centre team and at 10am, snacks & refreshments were served after registration.

We observed a minute's silence to respect and remember each and every individual who gave his / her life to protect and honour our country during World War 2. We had some patriotic songs being played and there was dancing by some lovely ladies, and a game of Bingo, which was thoroughly enjoyable, with the Bingo caller role conducted by Jackie and supported by Paul.

Everyone enjoyed the party

Bingo was followed by a filling lunch of various types of burgers - catered for

different dietary requirements - served with chips. The meal was followed by a delicious dessert with choice of various cheese cakes, Ras malai (Indian dessert) & more!

The finale was an exciting, fun-filled raffle session with everyone showing so much enthusiasm as the numbers were called, to find themselves either

winning or not winning a prize. All the winners walked away with great

prizes.

This successful event finished at 4pm with great feedback from all the attendees.

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Thank you for the kind feedback everyone! 🙏🏽