Trinity Hospice in Bispham will hold two Light up a Life events - plus an online service - this year so we can remember our loved ones lost

Guests across the Fylde coast are invited to celebrate the memories of loved ones during a poignant service held in the garden of the Bispham-based hospice, during which three trees are lit with hundreds of lights, each one remembering someone special.

The service had to be cancelled in 2019 due to high winds and again last year when Trinity was closed to the general public during the pandemic, with a virtual event being watched almost 3,000 times.

This year, to limit the number of people at the hospice at a time while Covid prevention measures are still being taken, Trinity, in Low Moor Road, is putting on two events and will once again share a virtual service for those who want to take part online.

The first will take place on Thursday, December 9 at 7pm, and the second will be on Sunday, December 12 at 4pm.

Anyone wishing to be part will be sent a special ‘at-home’ pack containing a dedication card with their loved one’s name, a wooden decoration, a candle, and a pin badge.

They will also have the opportunity to write meaningful words on a Memory Star, which can be sent back to the hospice to decorate its grand Christmas tree in the chapel.

Hospice worker Mark Cassidy said: “After two years without this very important event here in the hospice, we are so pleased to be able to give our community the chance to remember and celebrate the lives of loved ones here.

“Like most of our events last year, we created a virtual Light up a Life to ensure everyone in our community still had the chance to be involved in this very special service.

“The fact that it was watched by so many people, some of whom are not local to Blackpool and the Fylde coast, and the wonderful feedback we received, has shown us the importance to making Light up a Life available online once again.”

Part of the event includes an appeal, and last year, Trinity received £82,600 in donations, with Mark saying: “We are so grateful to everyone who chooses to make a donation so that we can provide outstanding specialist palliative and end-of-life care to everyone who needs us on the Fylde coast at Christmas.”

Find out more about this year’s event by clicking here.

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