FOREST Holme Hospice in Poole is inviting members of the public to join them in remembering loved ones at its Light Up A Life service, which this year will be preceded by a Memory Walk in Poole Park.

Light Up A Life, which takes place on Thursday November 28 at 6.30pm, is an annual service held on the steps of the Civic Centre in Poole led by Poole Hospital Chaplin, Rev Fraser Smith, which features a mixture of carols, readings, prayers and remembrance. The Mayor of Poole, Marion Le Poidevin, will be in attendance, while The Salvation Army and Wessex Chorus community choir will provide music.

The event culminates with the switching on of the lights on the Christmas Tree, signalling the start of the hospice’s Light up a Life campaign, which will then be followed by sherry and mince pies.

This year the hospice has also organised a Memory Walk in Poole Park before Light Up A Life, which will start from the Cricket Ground at 5.45pm. Registration is £5 per person and each participant will be sent a paper lantern bag in the post to decorate at home and then bring along on the night. A battery LED tea light to light up each lantern will be provided on the night and at the end of the walk, the lantern can be placed under the Christmas tree outside the Civic Centre.

Guests do not need to have known a patient at Forest Holme in order to attend either of the events, which are open to all who wish to remember someone special.

Charity Manager, Anne Currie, said: “Christmas can be a difficult time for those who have lost someone special. Our remembrance service is an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of those who are sadly no longer with us”,

For those who are unable to make the Light Up A Life event, the hospice charity will also have a Tree of Remembrance based outside M&S in the Dolphin Shopping Centre, Poole from November 28 – December 18, where people can dedicate a star to someone special.

* forestholmehospice.org.uk lightupalife-memorywalk.eventbrite.co.uk