Shrewsbury Ryman staff go mad for Comic Relief

The big-hearted team from Ryman in Riverside Mall will be dressing up in all sorts of odd costumes to stage their own version of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland throughout the day.

Appearing as the Mad Hatter will be store manager Gill Francis, while playing the famous White Rabbit will be deputy manager David Jones.

Last Saturday, Gill and David along with other members of Ryman’s seven-strong staff, went through exactly the same routine, sitting at a table and chairs inside the store and serving each other cuppas from a big teapot.

They kept it up from opening at 9am to closing at 5pm, and delighted customers who came upon the silly scene handed over £20 for Comic Relief.

This Saturday, when they will joined by, amongst others, part-time staff member Sally Headley as the Queen of Hearts, they are hoping to make even more cash for the charity by throwing another madcap tea party in the store.

They have a third and final party planned for the following Friday March 15 – the day Comic Relief comes to its fundraising climax for anoither year.

Deputy manager David, 30, said: “At last Saturday’s party we had a really great time and I think our customers enjoyed it too.

“Playing the White Rabbit was a lot of fun but what wasn’t so funny for me was when we did a challenge to eat as many jam tarts from our tea table as we could in two minutes.

“I was the winner when I managed to eat four of them but getting down all that dry pastry was tough going and I thought at one stage I was going to choke. Still, if I had it would have been in a good cause!”

David said staff at the store had an impressive track record for supporting various charities, always pulling out the stops to raise money for either Comic Relief or Sports Relief and making regular collections for the NSPCC.

Kevin Lockwood, Manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “Hats off to Gill and her team for doing this. It’s a great cause and it will bring smiles to a lot of faces.

“I’m sure the staff at Ryman will have a good time and so will their customers. Many of the stores here are very active in raising money for good causes and they deserve a lot of credit for their efforts.”