With people reeling from the horrors in Asia and the almost unbelievable suffering, I am writing to tell you of a very pleasant event before Christmas, exhibiting what goodwill there is in this town.

On December 23, we gave a Christmas party for a large number of deprived men and women, some of them with acute ill-health.

We were able to do this thanks to the generosity of Sue Addis of Donatellos, who supplied absolutely everything.

With Sue came a package deal of her friends Denise and Steve Taylor.

These two were involved in the decorating and all aspects of the function, working tirelessly.

The Mayoress of Brighton and Hove, Councillor Patricia Drake, boosted morale by attending and welcomed many guests. Her speech supporting the Day Centre was very well received.

Despite her busy schedule, the Mayoress found the time to brighten people's day.

Gloria Macari provided the music which lifted the occasion to make the day a happy one.

One of the highlights of the day was a gift from The Argus' Christmas Fund.

Thanks to donations from local people, people attending the party received fleecy-lined sports sweaters.

Local churches, always supportive, made a huge contribution, particularly in small gifts.

Of course, homelessness is not just a Christmas event, it is just that at this time of the year family ties are important and many of our deprived people have alienated themselves from society to the extent that Christmas is normally a non-event.

Please thank all those caring people out there.

-Irene Parry, Homeless And Lonely Organisation, Brighton