Christmas would have been at best a grim affair this year in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic for Carl and Janice Lewis had it not been for the care and generosity of on-loan Real Madrid rebel and Tottenham football superstar Gareth Bale.
The Tottenham Hotspur star has helped spread Christmas cheer in Wales by taking on the Santa role and shelling out £15,000 to help feed 300 families across Swansea to help spread the festive cheer with £50 hampers for each family.
The Wales and Tottenham player, 29, also offered up one of his shirts to help stoke the Christmas festivities even further, as part of the South Wales Evening Post’s Everyone Deserves A Christmas appeal, with the aim of offering families a hamper packed full of Christmas treats who would otherwise struggle to meet the cost of buying a festive dinner.
Carl and Janice have been receiving a hamper for two years running and they love being surprised by the goodies tucked inside on the big day.
Suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which makes it a challenge to walk far, the couple are living on benefits as a result of their ill health.
Carl, 65, of Waun Wen, Swansea, said:
“I really, really want to thank Gareth Bale, he’s doing a marvellous job – he doesn’t have to do anything.
“He cares about people who are struggling. He does not have to do it – they should have more people like him around.
“I am over the moon – he doesn’t know me, I don’t know him – he’s doing it for strangers. I can’t fault him, it’s brilliant.”
He added:
“I do not go anywhere or do anything or drink – for someone to do that, I am over the moon. We would have just had the basics on Christmas Day. I will have to buy a can and give him a toast.
“We did not expect it at all, we are very thankful. It’s very hard at Christmas, so it’s a nice surprise going into the hamper and seeing what you can’t afford.”
He said that everything in the hamper they didn’t need for Christmas Day, they would use in the future.
His wife Janice, 63, added:
“It was great, it will make such a difference – tremendously. Christmas would be more of an everyday thing for us. We wouldn’t have anything special, we don’t go spending money that we can’t afford.
“The hamper has made Christmas more special. It would have just been normal food, the hamper really helps a lot. It’s surprising people are so kind.”
She added:
“I am looking forward to Christmas because it has been a terrible year. It’s something to look forward to at least now. It will be more enjoyable this year.”
The couple said this year had been a struggle due to the debilitating effect of the Covid-19 crisis had made it harder for them to go out due to the health risk.
Carl said:
“We haven’t been going out – both of us are high-risk as we both have COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and can’t walk far.
“We are on special pumps and are on benefits, so things are a bit hard.”
He added:
“Anything we get is a bonus.
“It was a surprise to have the hampers last year, I can’t say thank you enough.
“We have been relying on food parcels because of Covid.”
It’s truly heartwarming that there are genuine football stars like Bale who do spare more than just a caring thought for those who are far removed from the glitter and glamor of the spectacle of football. It’s the giving that makes it a more meaningful goal to achieve.