While other folk spent the Bank Holiday weekend battling traffic jams or dancing at Notting Hill carnival, our amazing supporters were getting seriously busy raising serious cash. Thanks to some sterling efforts, we netted almost £5k in just three days – that’s enough to rent our home for FIVE MONTHS!
On Saturday, my home village of Rotherfield was transformed into a Glastonbury-style festival (minus the mud!) with Rotherfest – 12 hours of live music and family fun. A big thank you to the brilliant Justin and Kim at the Kings Arms for making us their chosen charity, to Becky and Alan (and all their helpers!) for organising a brilliant day, and to all the bands who played for free – especially headline acts Brian Maiden and Bare Groove. They raised over £2k, but that was just the beginning!
Saturday night saw the first ever Harpenden Curry Night, hosted by Andree and Wendy. Around 30 people enjoyed Andree’s fabulous cooking in a garden marquee, serenaded by live music from Henry the Lounge Singer, who – in true Phoenix Nights-style – turned up in his motor home! It was a great bash, and raised £800 – so thank you to everyone involved.
Harpenden Ladies Curry Night
A wonderfully hot and sunny Monday saw another first – our inaugural Mixed Doubles Tennis Championships in Tidebrook, East Sussex. Huge thanks to Phyllida and Glenn Earle, who kindly hosted the semi-finals, and provided a delicious lunch. The finals were won in a hard-fought battle by Jane and Charlie Ryland – Charlie’s stamina should be particularly noted, especially as he was rushed to A & E following the event to have a piece of metal removed from his eye! Everyone was extremely generous, and we raised around £800.
Mixed Doubles Tennis Championships
The Bank Holiday weekend ended with our second Romance & Dirty Glamour speed dating night. Some 40 singletons turned up to find love, and weren’t disappointed! After dazzling ballet-star-turned-pole-dancer Trixie Belle got the night (and everyone’s pulses) going with her stunning show, the dates commenced. Despite a slight hiccup with the numbering system, which led to a few confused men trying to work out exactly which lovely ladies they should be talking to, romance was definitely in the air, and lots of matches were made. We raised around £600 on the night, and some lucky folk gained a few phone numbers!
Trixie Bell in action @ our Speed Dating night
We couldn’t so this without you – and every single penny counts. Talking of counting, the last word has to go to supporter Chris Thorpe. A self-confessed gadget geek, Chris went walking through Austria, complete with loads – and we do mean loads! – of gadgets to map his position, and ‘day streamed’ tweets of his journey. It’s the most truly interactive fundraising initiative yet, and we felt like we were with him every step of the way. You can still sponsor his incredible journey – visit http://www.justgiving.com/fourwalks and http://four.walks.at/
