In pictures: 85-year-old Elspeth Owen is star of CamCRAG Winter Fair and Sleepout in Cambridge for The Haven shelter

The CamCrag (Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group) Winter Fair and Sleepout took place at St Giles Church on Saturday (8 February).

The fair in cooperation with Women’s Homelessness Action Group (WHAG) featured a sponsored sleep-out for refugees and the homeless at the weekend (8-9 February). The event included stalls selling food and drink, second hand clothes and books, Cambridge Jazz Choir and crafts made locally and by refugees. All proceeds aid CamCRAG’s support for refugees.

Then, after sunset and the end of the public fair, the sleepers enjoyed a meal together in the church before facing the night in tents or under tarpaulins.

“We are incredibly proud of our sleepers, who have exceeded their target of £5,000, which we will be sharing with The Haven, the Cambridge night shelter for women,” said Catharine Walston, CamCRAG’s chair.

“It was a cold, damp and blowy night on Saturday which, combined with constant light, traffic all night and some resident foxes, meant the sleepers got very little sleep at all.

“They all did an amazing job but it is only fair to highlight Elspeth Owen, who is a renowned local potter and veteran of Greenham Common. It is no small thing to undertake such a challenge at the age of 85 but she sees it as ‘an opportunity to make a stir with an imaginative action and to raise urgent funds’.”

The JustGiving page here is live for another two weeks so there is still time to reward Elspeth’s commitment with a donation.

“After all,” says Catharine, “she slept out so that others should not have to.”

All the money raised at the event will go towards supporting CamCRAG's activities in Northern France, and towards supporting CamCRAG’s charity partner, the Women’s Homelessness Action Group.