The sun was shining and the temperature was climbing as we turned off the A13 at Rainham and into the car park of the CEME centre for the St Luke’s Hospice fun day.

After setting up our stand and blowing up 50 helium balloons we had a walk round to see what else was going on. The Royal Navy had a helicopter simulator where you could try your hand at landing a helicopter on the flight deck of a frigate. West Ham football club had set up a goal and the public could have a go at scoring a penalty, and a team of two could race against the clock to change two tyres on a Ford Fiesta in the Pit Stop Wheel change challenge.

An Elvis impersonator unfortunately got lost and turned up 3 hours late but still managed to belt out a few hits for his audience. Oscar the robot was a great success with the children as he rolled about talking in his Dalek voice.