Local business woman, Rachel Terry, who runs The Citadel Hall in Chippenham town centre is hosting a Christmas fish and chip lunch especially for the self-employed and small business owners.

Rachel was inspired to run her first festive event last year when she recognised how lonely Christmas can be in business when you are self-employed with no team around you on a daily basis.

“Last year as I listened to so many of my friends talking about how much they were looking forward to their ‘works’ Christmas party I realised, that working on my own, I didn’t have a Christmas party to go to and no work ‘mates’ to pull a Christmas cracker with!” explained Rachel.

“It hit me I was not the only business professional in the same position. There are a growing number of successful self-employed, small business lone workers, sometimes with limited interaction or engagement with other people. There is a real danger we can feel very isolated, especially at Christmas.”

Rachel decided to take action and organised the first Business ‘Billy No-Mates’ Christmas Lunch at The Citadel in December last year and the event was a sell-out.

“Everyone had such a good time they have insisted I organise the lunch again this year, so I have!” said Rachel. “This year I’ve increased the numbers to 30 as not only is it the perfect opportunity to get together with like-minded people, wear your Christmas jumper, and have some festive fun, it is also a chance to network with other business people.”

Rachel is supporting a local business by providing fish & chips from Buckles in Timber Street. on Wednesday December 12, from 12pm to 2pm, at the Citadel Hall.

“The cost is £10 plus the cost of your lunch from Buckles, which is not limited to fish & chips! I need to order our lunches by early December, so if you are interested please get in touch ASAP. There is a menu on the Facebook page so it’s really easy to choose what you would like.”

To book, call Rachel on 07811 809216, message her via Facebook (The Citadel Hall) or visit the Citadel Hall.