On Friday 10 November, Papworth Trust welcomed local MP Stephen Metcalfe to our day opportunities service in Basildon. After a tour with our Service Manager, Maggie Blackburn, we held a 2 minute silence for remembrance (see our customer poem below).

We then held a questions and answers session led by customers where Stephen spoke about life as a Member of Parliament and customers told him about some of the issues faced by disabled people.

Stephen said:

“It was a great pleasure to have the opportunity to visit Papworth Trust again and to meet the service users who value so highly the opportunities which it provides.
The Trust does tremendous work in supporting people with physical and learning disabilities giving them more confidence in dealing with the world around them.  The Act of Remembrance was particularly poignant, and it is so important that we all take the time during our busy lives to think about the servicemen and women who been lost through conflict.

I was also pleased to be questioned by them about my role as a Member of Parliament and what that entails.  It was wonderful to see them so engaged and interested in the local community.

Maggie Blackburn and the staff at the Trust do excellent work in supporting disabled people and their families and I am so grateful to them for taking their time to help.”


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I am a poppy
Written by Billie-Jean and read out by Carmen, both Basildon Day Opportunities customers

I am a poppy.
I am a symbol you can share and copy.
I am millions of memories,
Of men who are now remembered now in documentaries.
I am a symbol of war.
A message of peace and hope for what the future has in store.
I am a poppy to remember every man,
When the war tore apart their every plan.
I am a poppy to remember every husband and son,
And those who never had the chance to find the one.
I am a simple poppy,
That you can share and copy.