ABOUT 45 children, mainly British or from dual British-Turkish families, enjoyed traditional Easter games last weekend and raised a fantastic 811TL for underprivileged youngsters in Didim.

Last Easter Sunday’s setting for the fun and games was the Blue Restaurant, at Yesilkent, where children and adults combined in five teams to enjoy a variety of games, such as the sack race, three-legged race, egg and spoon race, and hunt the Easter egg,  

The teams, split into country names of Turkey, England, Scotland, Brazil and France, also enjoyed ball games and all the children and participating adults had a wonderful time, as well as being egged by a large crowd.

The Easter fun was organized by Jill Robinson who set up the Every Need Didim 2015 cause to help provide uniforms and school-related items, such as pens, books, footwear and bags, for needy children attending Valliler School.

The cause has so far raised more than 4,000TL, with 2,900TL already utilized and the rest held in a specially-created account for future needs.

Jill, who has three children, aged nine, seven and one, and is expecting a fourth, has recently become a parent governor at the school. She said: “The day was absolutely fantastic and exceeded our expectations.

“Based on Sunday, Didim is blessed with some really nice people and a lot have been messaging me asking when the next event will be. We are planning to put something on at the end of May.”

She publicly thanked Emma Cowles, Andy and the Blue Restaurant for utilising the venue and organizing the games on the day.

She added: “I would like to thank everyone who attended the day and who supported the Every Need Didim campaign. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Jill, with the help of the Zebra Play Café, set up the fund after being struck by the needs of some children in the locality. Every Need Didim was borne to raise money for 10 local children’s needs, but has grown to over 4,000TL and shows no sign of stopping.

Local resident Kevin Jeynes, who attended the Easter Sunday activities, told Voices: “Even though, we are many miles from British shores it was nice to see many traditions continued.

“During the egg and spoon race there was the doting dad generously applying chewing gum to the spoon to ensure the egg remained in position and the highly respectable lady ensuring her thumb was firmly placed on top of the egg.

“It was clear that the children could teach the adults a thing or two about playing by the rules.  But it was a fantastic day enjoyed by all, and all acts and cheating taken in the true spirit of fun as was intended.”