The Queen used a ceremonial sword to cut a cake and pulled a Christmas cracker with Sir Terry Waite to celebrate 25 years of Emmaus Bristol. She was handed the sword by Peaches Golding, Lord Lieutenant of Bristol, who had celebrated her own 70th birthday the day before and told Her Majesty: “I tested it last night, just to make sure.”
“There we are, that’s a very good slice,” said Camilla, lifting the sword from the sponge. “We’ll get another one there, not a very elegant slice,” she said to laughter and applause. Sir Terry also invited her to pull a Christmas cracker with him and she asked him: “You won’t cheat?” “I won’t cheat,” he laughed.
The Queen was visiting one of the Emmaus UK’s 30 communities, which tackle homelessness by providing people with a home and a purpose. In return for bed and board, clients – known as companions – work to support the charity in its shops and warehouses.
Sir Terry Waite, who was knighted by the King last month, is president of Emmaus UK. Her Majesty had arrived slightly late for the engagement after signaling issues delayed her train from London. Emerging from her car, she was greeted by the Lord Lieutenant, Deputy Lord Lieutenant Dom Wood, Lord Mayor of Bristol Steve Pearce and Sharon Foster, the city’s High Sheriff.
She then joined Emmaus UK’s chair of trustees Jill Garner and Jessica Hodge, chief executive of Emmaus Bristol for a tour of the centre’s warehouse and offices. The community is home to 24 people who have experienced homelessness, poverty, and social exclusion, and provides support to them for as long as it is needed.
As well as a 21-bedroom house for companions, it has four terraced houses providing affordable housing for families.
In the warehouse, the Queen was shown where donated items are stored, repurposed or upcycled and watched companions Kevin and Michael at work, sanding and re-painting furniture with recycled paint to be sold in the shop.
Michael told her had joined the community in August. “They’re good places, aren’t they?” she said. “Yes, to chill out and get yourself back together,” he agreed. Camilla told him the Bristol hub was the first Emmaus UK centre she visited when she became the charity’s royal patron in 2006.
Another companion, Adrian, showed the Queen how to PAT test donated electrical items to check they are suitable for resale. She also met volunteers and staff helping to manage Emmaus Bristol’s three shops, eBay store, house clearance service and two eco treehouse pods which are rented out to holidaymakers visiting Bristol.
“It’s a busy period, as you can imagine,” said Katie Atherton, online retail assistant, explaining how they had sold 13 items overnight. “It’s amazing how quickly it goes,” said the Queen.
Outside in the car park, she was shown two eco treehouse pods which are rented out to holidaymakers visiting Bristol, adding to the charity’s income. Inside the main office, Her Majesty was reunited with David Watkinson, a former companion who moved into his own flat earlier this year but has stayed on as a volunteer.
“You came to Clarence House,” she said, recalling a lunch she hosted to mark Emmaus UK’s 30th anniversary in 2021. Upstairs in the furniture shop, the Queen greeted Sir Terry with a kiss, saying: “Very nice to see you, it’s absolutely lovely. It’s nice to come back again.”
“Thank you so much for all your support,” he replied. “When I got my recent honour I mentioned to your husband that you were still supporting us and he said, ‘I know, I know’. “You look extremely well,” he told her, to which she replied, with a smile, “Well, I’m surviving.”
Sir Terry said afterwards: “I said to her, we’re so grateful to you for continuing this now that you’re Queen. And she said, ‘I don’t give up easily’. “She doesn’t give up easily, she’s had a lot of difficulties to fight and she’s done well.”
After cutting the cake, Her Majesty handed a goody bag from the Buckingham Palace shop to Pawel, one of the companions, telling him: “This is for all of you at Christmas. You’ve got a few little treats in here. Don’t eat them all! I hope you enjoy them.”
The Queen was then presented with a gift of her own, personalised dog bowls for her Jack Russell rescue pets Beth and Bluebell. The wooden bases, each engraved with their names, were fitted with metal bowls and embroidered fabric collars and were made by companions at Emmaus Merseyside.
“Goodness, they’ve never had such smart [bowls], they won’t know what to do with them! Thank you very much.”
She also spent time chatting to many of the companions, including Pawel, 42, who became emotional as he told her how he had been accepted into the Emmaus Bristol community after living on the streets of Scunthorpe for several years.
On her way out, the Queen walked through the centre’s ground floor shop, commenting on the “treasure trove” of donated goods on display before a china plate featuring a Christmas tree design caught her eye.
Taking out a crisp £10 note featuring the late Queen’s image, she waited at the counter as Xanne Carey, head of impact at Emmaus Bristol, took her payment. There was just time for a group photograph outside before she was waved off on her way to her next engagement.
Speaking afterwards, Sir Terry said: “We have 30 communities now. We started in a portacabin in a windswept field in Cambridge with nothing and gradually developed. But we still need more. The great thing about Emmaus is… that when a homeless person comes here they agree to work according to their capacity, so it’s not just receiving charity. They get an allowance, they get a good standard of accommodation, they get physical or psychological help and they get back on their feet.”
He went on: “They have a real purpose in life.” He said that by working in a shop, companions regain a “sense of dignity” and are able to interact with society again, sometimes after many years of living on the streets.”
Another companion, Joe, 44, joined Emmaus Bristol four months ago, having lived on the street in London since 2019 after becoming addicted to crack cocaine and heroin. “Now I’m back,” he said. “I want to hug and kiss everyone, that’s how happy I am. Coming here, they’re not just filling my tummy with food, they are filling my heart as well.
“With support from Emmaus, Joe has been clean for four months and now spends his free time birdwatching and cycling. Before his drug problem, he worked as a receptionist and waiter in top London hotels.
He said: “I’ve met so many stars in the past – footballers, actors, singers. But nothing got me excited like today. I feel emotional – I nearly went to hug [the Queen].” Describing how the charity had changed his life, David Watkinson said: “If it wasn’t for Emmaus, I wouldn’t be here – I would be six foot down.
“He went on: “It gives you your self esteem back. It gave me a reason to get up in the morning.”
