The coronavirus crisis may have shut the country down but for one Sudbury teenager it resulted in a very special birthday message from one of her heroes.
Madeleine Strolenberg of Sudbury originally wanted a party to celebrate her 14th birthday but the plan was dashed after the country was forced to isolate because of the pandemic.
But any glumness turned to smiles after she received a personal birthday video message from popular entertainer David Walliams.
The Little Britain star is a renowned children’s author and a favourite of Madeleine and her younger sister Millie.
She said: “I was in bits when I saw it, it was overwhelming. To have him wish me happy birthday was absolutely amazing.
“I love his books and I like his style of writing. My favourite is The Boy In The Dress, I really like the confidence he gives the boy.”
The message came as following a conversation between Madeleine’s parents, Greg and Jen Strolenberg, and a regular customer at their butcher’s shop Lavenham Butchers in Lavenham.
Greg said: “He is a friend as well as a customer and we were talking about how Madeleine’s birthday party was not going to be able to happen.
“He knows David so he took a few details and went away, and then the next thing we know we got the video.
“It was a lovely thing to do. It’s little things like that which make all the difference and we are all really grateful to him and to David for taking the time to record the message.”
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