Ashford International decorated for Christmas thanks to Southeastern’s Santa’s helper

A Southeastern employee has come up with a novel way to give Ashford International station a festive feel.

Estelle Waters, who has been a member of Ashford International’s platform staff for 19 years, wanted to bring Christmas cheer to the station’s staff and passengers, while also being creative by recycling everyday items into decorations. She said: “I thought, what can I make for nothing?”

Thanks to three months of preparation, Estelle recycled 3,000 used train tickets to create paper chains and tree decorations for Christmas decorations at Ashford International, together with a 4-feet tall model of Wallace and Gromit to be used as a centrepiece.

Estelle Waters 4 — Estelle Waters. Credit: Andy Jones

“I’ve repurposed used tickets into trees, turned them into decorations to hang around the station entrance. It’s a bit of fun for passengers. I’ve tried to be creative, to make the station bright and cheerful, and have been saving them since the beginning of the year instead of simply throwing them away.”

Estelle is not the first Southeastern member to recycle train tickets. Guillermo Lamas Fripp, Station Team Leader for Southeastern at Charing Cross, created a dress out of tickets which he wore around the station as part of a drag performance for London Pride, raising money for the Terence Higgins Trust.

Anyone wanting to get into the sustainable spirit of Christmas like Estelle should check out Southeastern’s “The Key” at https://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/tickets/tickets-explained/the-key-smart-tickets

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Estelle Waters 6 — Estelle Waters’ tickets daisy chain Credit: Andy Jones

The Key is similar to Transport for London’s Oyster Card. It is a contactless smartcard that allows passengers to buy and download tickets at home and fast-track through the station. The use of contactless technology allows the card to be simply held over the reader at the ticket gate. It’s also wipeable and easy to clean, leaving you in control. Also available on The Key is Southeastern’s new Flexi season ticket, which offers eight days of travel in 28 days between two stations.