In July, we had been an epic adventure around the country. It started with the awesome privilege to be invited, as finalists, to the House of Lords as the first part of celebrating inspirational people in this year’s Soldiering On Awards. The 35 other finalists across 12 categories, chosen as exceptional examples of their dedication, courage, determination and commitment to supporting the others - a truly exemplary group. We were surrounded by old friends and new and very proud to listen to so many inspirational stories. We're looking forward to becoming good friends with those we’d not meet before last Tuesday. A massive congratulations to all the fellow finalists.
Next up was a chance for us to pay a little back to X-Forces Enterprise for their support in starting The Chocolate Soldier by representing them at the Veterans UK expo in Manchester. We had the opportunity to meet so many great people and hope that we’ve helped inspire some of them in their resettlement journey towards a future of self-employment, with the guidance and mentorship provided by X-FE.
Lastly, we were invited to the Junior Chocolate Masters UK competition. The event saw 5 amazing young chocolatiers demonstrate their skill and creativity with Chocolate. A massive thank you to Keylink Limited and Chocolate Academy UK & Ireland for the invitation and a huge well done to Caitlin who took the prize with stiff competition from the other 4 finalists. Our favourite showpiece was the playfulness of the piranha game (and yes it was all made from chocolate!)