UK – Cheesemakers from England, Scotland and Wales are providing a cheese feast for Chelsea Pensioners to enjoy from now into the New Year.

The Dairy Council’s annual Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses on 1 December featured 74 individual cheeses donated by 49 producers from all over the UK.

The ceremony has been running for 48 years and this year saw the most cheese ever provided for the war veterans.

The festive gathering continues a tradition dating back to 1692 when the Royal Hospital in Chelsea asked a local cheesemonger to provide the pensioners who live there with cheese as a Christmas treat.