Five men have come together to raise money for their chosen charity ‘Help Our Wounded Royal Marines’, formed by Chris Stubbings BEM in March 2010.
Quote from the facebook page:
HELP OUR WOUNDED is a fundraising arm for The Royal Marines Association, Charity Number 206003. HOW was formed on the 4th March 2010 because of the number of seriously injured Royal Marines returning from operational tours in Afghanistan Iraq and other areas of armed conflict. HELP OUR WOUNDED is a community based effort seeking to help the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund (Registered Charity No 1134205), meet it’s target of raising £6M by the 350th anniversary of the Corps in October 2014. A Campaign Board has been established to coordinate the Corps Family effort working towards this testing target and HELP OUR WOUNDED is represented on that board.
What, when and where
On December the 3rd and 4th Dave Lilburn MBE, Stuart Baldwin, Cai Ives, Stuart Bourne and Stuart Power will be pulling a sledge from London to Brighton to help raise awareness and funds for this great charity.
Quote from the facebook page:
Myself (Stuart Bourne, Regional Fund Raiser for the South Eat) along with David Lilburn,Cai Ives,Stuart Baldwin and Stuart Power will be pulling a sledge to rasie funds for HELP OUR WOUNDED ROYAL MARINES over the weekend stopping at Crawley where there will be a fundraisng event on the Saturday evening. We have also enlisted some Santa Helpers as traffic guides (Reserves) and these are : Gay Wise, Andy Hains, Dale Lilburn and Ashton Lilburn.
As well as raising funds we will be asking for donations of xmas presents so that we may pass these onto the children of those brave Royals who have given their lives and will not be around this xmas so please lets do all we can to try and raise a smile and show we do care and will never forget them.
We hope as many people will join in around the country and mirror what we are doing. We would like this to become an annual event, so take up the challenge and get pulling for HELP OUR WOUNDED ROYAL MARINES.
We wish them all the best
Shelley was invited down to the martial arts school Lumpini in Priestley Way, Crawley to speak to the men involved. We also spoke to John Jarvis who is a trainer at Lumpini who have offered to train the men to full fitness for the event. John told us they were more than honoured to help the men get fit for this feat and to support them in many more ways, including giving them a stall at their forthcoming Muaythai Boxing event happening this Saturday at Effingham Park Hotel. More details can be found here.
We would like to wish them all the best. We will be covering their arrival into Crawley on December 3rd. Please show your support in any way you can.
On Saturday 9th July the fourth annual Relay for Life set yet another great pace.
With thirty two teams ready to walk the course for the next twenty four hours, Laura Senekal and Darren Bow took to the stage to kick off this amazing ceremony. The teams have worked tirelessly to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
A special mention to our good friend Jules Neale who attended in support and as Captain of Team Yummy even though she has recently been very unwell with a back injury. Although the pampering administered was well worth the effort, wasn’t it Jules And of course, a big thank you to all those, who are still under treatment but came to support and walk the course. Amazing!
Laura wrote this for us:
Well, what can I say? What a weekend!
This is the 4th year Crawley has hosted a Relay For Life and this has been the most amazing event yet. This year we had 32 teams sign up for Relay and together they have so far managed to raise a staggering £68,000 for Cancer Research UK.
Relay For Life is a 24 hour event where teams of friends, family or colleagues take it in turns to walk for a full 24 hours as a sign that cancer doesn’t sleep. All around the track the team have stalls and fundraise furiously during the day. This year we had everything from cakes to a hog roast and tombola’s to tattoos. Even the rain could not stop the cash coming in! During this 24 hours the teams managed to bring in over £12K!!!!! Thank you Crawley!
This year we were supported by some really amazing people who came along to entertain our teams and the public. These included Flying High, Crawley Black Belt Academy, The Nickie Poslad School of Dance, Fi Steps & ACE Irish Dance Academy. We were also lucky enough to enjoy some fantastic local music talent from Solice, The Matt McConnon Band, Chinchilla Zilla, the Songbirds Choir and our very own firstaider Phil singing with Six Till Midnight.
Now, although the day sees us all enjoying a bit of a mini carnival /festival the evening really reminds us of why we are there. When the sun sets we all take part in a candle of hope ceremony, our walking track is lined with candle bags, all dedicated to people to have fought cancer. It is a time to remember, reflect and celebrate the lives of our loved ones. This year we had a special memorial for our good friend Morag Clapp who left us just after last year’s event. This year we also heard a beautiful poem written and read by one of our survivors, Cheryl Ross along with the Songbirds singing ‘I’ll Stand By You’, Shannon Stocker singing a beautiful version of ‘Dance with my Father’, and Aimee Bow finishing the ceremony off with a very emotional rendition of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
NB: We sped up some of the walking so you could see more
I am so very lucky to have such fantastic support from the Relay committee who all come and gave their time for free as did our first aiders (SceneSafe) and the local scouts who kept everyone fed and watered for the full 24 hours….you are all absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!! And a massive thank you to Matt Pay and HSS Hire who donated all the electrical equipment we needed for the day.
I am so very grateful to everyone that took part, raised funds or just came down to see what Relay was all about, already we are seeing interest from new teams for 2012! Next year we may even theme Relay in line with the Olympics…..who knows J.
Why not go and have a look at our website (www.relayforlifecrawley.org) or add us on facebook to be updated with local relay news?
The Hawth Crawley is delighted to announce that it has secured a grant of £99,999 supported by the National Lottery, through Arts Council England to develop and promote Going Global II, an audience development programme designed to offer audiences culturally diverse and international work in Crawley over the next two years.
Going Global II will give The Hawth the chance to further its programme of culturally diverse and international performances. The theatre will continue to showcase South Asian and African-Caribbean work while developing programming for emerging communities including Eastern European and Portuguese. The grant will also enable The Hawth to commission and co-produce culturally diverse work specifically for children to enjoy and to bring diverse communities together.
Councillor Lenny Walker, Cabinet member for Leisure and Cultural Services at Crawley Borough Council, said: “This is fantastic news and I’m delighted that we will be offering even more culturally diverse and international work at The Hawth. I hope the securing of this funding and the new programme enables more people to experience the arts locally.”
Sally Abbott, Regional Director, Arts Council England, said: “The Arts Council believes that the arts should be enjoyed by as many people as possible, and a project that seeks to widen engagement fits in with our mission of great art for everyone. We are delighted to be supporting this project and look forward to seeing people across Crawley enjoying the arts.”
Shows already set to attract the crowds include Tavaziva Dance’s Wild Dog capturing the beauty and elegance of Africa as part of Black History Month, The Jingle Dress which will transport little ones to Native America and there will be breathtaking dance in The Shiver which combines classical Indian dance and poetry by acclaimed poet and playwright Lemn Sissay. In the coming years The Hawth hopes to engage almost 200 artists, performers and theatre companies in order to attract new audiences with shows and workshops, giving everyone the chance to experience different cultures and create links with different communities.
This grant has also created an exciting new role at The Hawth as the theatre are now looking for an Audience Development Assistant to actively promote Going Global and co-ordinate community projects for the next two years. Anyone interested in the role can express an interest by emailing info@hawth.co.uk for more information.
Every parent hopes their child will be born healthy and grow up without serious injury or illness. Tragically sometimes these expectations are shattered: children are born with disabilities or become disabled as a result of an accident or illness. The Children’s Trust based in Tadworth, Surrey, is here to help these children and their families.
Where and what time?
The circular walk will start and finish at the Pavillion in Priory Park, Reigate Surrey at 10pm on Saturday 25th September. The route will take you through the surrounding areas of Reigate and Redhill. We expect Sleepwalkers will finish between 1am-3am as people walk roughly 3miles an hour.
Journalist and BBC news presenter Nicholas Owen is officially starting the event off!
Who can take part?
Unlike other walks this one is open to men and women of all ages. Children are welcome but under 16′s must be accompanied by an adult
Why not wear your pyjamas or nightwear?
Why not enter into the spirit of Sleepwalk and pop on your pj’s or fancy dress. It will look great to see Sleepwalkers in their blue sleepwalk t-shirt (which you will collect on the night) and pyjama bottoms!
Registration Prices:
For those registering 10 or more you will automatically be entered into the draw to win a pamper package.
For more information
Please contact Bryony or Emma: sleepwalk@thechildrenstrust.org.uk or call 01737 364323
This Year’s Official World Wide Wedding Day was held on the 20th August 2010.
Gatwick Diamond Rotary Club representative Geoff Williamson told us “this was the Fourth Year in succession that we have participated in the World Wide Wedding Day event. Our event started on the 19th August with a walk at lunch time around Manor Royal from Faraday Road”.
On Friday the 20th August a second walk took place at lunch time around Manor Royal from the VW Dealership on the Gatwick Road. Members of the Club again dressed up in Wedding Attire. Geoff went on to say “Brenda Burgess joined us again dressed as the Mother of the Bride. We were also joined by The Worshipful the Mayor of Crawley, Councillor Lee Burke for this walk”.
Monies raised on these two walks would go towards this Year’s Gatwick Diamond Rotary Club Charities which are as follows: Crawley Open House, Down’s Syndrome and Home-Start Crawley & Horsham (Home-Start is also the Mayor’s chosen Charity for this Year).
Over 30 Million Pounds are raised for Charity each Year by UK Rotary Clubs.
For pictures of the event ( or to find out more about our Club ) please go to www.gatwickdiamondrotary.org and click on Events.
Crawley Borough Council is helping the town support the victims of the Pakistani flood disaster by making it easy to donate to the cause.
Anyone who wants to donate, including larger amounts generated through fundraising, can do so at the Town Hall or on the council website.
Cashiers will take donations at the Town Hall between 9.30am and 3.30pm or you can give online by logging onto www.crawley.go.uk/fundraising and following the link; a downloadable postal donation form is also available.
All money taken by Crawley Council will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organisation for 13 UK based aid agencies.
Crawley Council is also calling on fundraisers to register their events online, through the council’s Events Directory, to help promote them; community groups can also register themselves on the Community Directory to make it easier for people to contact them.
The Pakistani floods have left 14 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, according to UN estimates – more than the scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Leader of Crawley Borough Council, Bob Lanzer, said: “This is another terrible disaster that requires people to pull together and raise much-needed funds to help the millions of people impacted by this tragic event.
“We have a strong Pakistani community in Crawley and no doubt there will be people in the town who have been affected by this in some way. We want to make it easier for them and the rest of the community to support the people in Pakistan.”
On Wednesday 23rd June over 2000 woman joined in the Race for Life to raise much needed funds for Cancer Research UK.
With the sun shining and the birds singing, Tilgate Park filled up with lots of ladies in pink for the 5k. Some ran, some walked, some even went three legged! Hosted by Chris Oxlade of Radio Mercury and attended by the Deputy Mayor Carol Eade the evening was a great success.
Crawley Happy Times would like to thank all those present who donated £1 for a picture taken with CHT finger puppet, including Chris Oxlade and Deputy Mayor Carol Eade. Also donating a percentage of takings on the day were Sweet Fills authentic french crepes. And they were delicious!
Cancer effects nearly everyone as some time in their lives. These events are essential to help fund research for the future.
We took footage of the start and the finish, so we hope you can see yourself on the video. We were impressed with the warm up, led by the staff from LA Fitness. Our apologies for the wonky video of the Deputy Mayors address. We were helping collect money and had our hands full, were caught off guard
We want to commend all who took part and to all those invovled with organising such a great event especially Laura Senokal, Committee Chairperson. Laura also organises the Relay for Life which is going on again this year on the 10th and 11th July. If you are not entered, there is still time, or just come down to have a nice day out and to support all involved. We covered this event last year which you can read here.
Did you take part in this years Race for Life? Did you see yourself on the video? If you want to leave a personal message about this event, please comment below
Crawley Open House cares for people suffering from the effects of homelessness, unemployment, loneliness, discrimination or social exclusion. Mayor Brenda Burgess made this her charity of choice when being sworn in as Mayor of Crawley in May 2009.
On Saturday 15th May 2010 Open house opened it’s doors for a fund raising event to mark the end of Mayor Brenda Burgess’ term in office. Mayor Brenda Burgess also took this opportunity to recognise the devoted workers and volunteers of Open House including Peter Mansfield -Clark MBE who heads up the charity and one of Crawley’s most active fund raisers via music, Carl Brooks.
The band 1 in 4
The day was full of entertainment in the form of a live band called 1 in 4, inflatable gladiator, balloon creations by a very talented young man, and raffles.
Mayor Brenda Burgess having a dance with one of the guests
It really was a fantastic event with more money being raised for Open House. Mayor Brenda Burgess has helped raise approximately £15,000 for Crawley Open House which depends on fund raising to keep doing such great work.
Henry Smith & Bob Burgess
We took some photos for you and even caught a gladiator fight between our new MP Henry Smith and Councillor Bob Burgess.
Steve Littler is a determined gentleman on a mission to complete his first marathon.
Steve, Area Manager for Bishops Move in Crawley, is in training to run the Neolithical Marathan. This is a twenty six mile run from Avebury to Stone Henge. Why is Steve any different to any other runner, we hear you ask. Well, Steve sprained his ankle seven weeks ago and was originally told he would not be ready for the marathon in May. Instead of getting down about his situation, Steve made sure he gave his ankle as much rest as he could, then was back on his feet, determined to participate. Steve is raising money for a charity which has effected everyone at some time in their lives, including Steve. St Catherine’s Hospice is a charity dedicated to providing specialised support to local people and their families, friends and carers.
Steve attended Crawley Hospital’s walk in centre and told Shelley he was very impressed and pleased with the service he received. Crawley Hospital has always been portrayed in a negative light, so it was refreshing to hear Steve speak so highly of the staff and the hospital itself.
The twenty six mile marathon will be the first for Steve, who is not joined to any clubs but trains with family and friends. His wife just completed the London Marathon in a great time. Steve is hoping to complete this with his wife next year. We wish them both all the best for that. Crawley Happy Times would like to wish Steve all the best for his marathon, and we look forward on reporting Steve’s achievement.
If you would like to sponsor Steve please go here…
When Steve is not working or training for the marathon, he can be found playing bass guitar in a band called Flip The Bird. Our thanks goes to Neil Palfreyman for allowing us to use these great pictures
Shelley spoke to Steve about his trials and trivializations whilst preparing for such a feat.
On the 21st September Comet staff members Saira O’Sullivan and Dan Kennedy are off to climb a mountain in Morocco.
Why are they?
Saira and Dan are one of 25 employees who volunteered to raise money for the chosen charity nominated by Comet. Each year, Comet present this excellent opportunity to it’s staff members nationwide but only 25 can participate.
Who are Comet?
Comet has more than 250 stores throughout the UK, offering a wide range of electrical products. Comet launched their two-year partnership with Make a Wish Foundation UK in January 2007 with a target of raising £250,000 by the end of 2008. This was achieved in under a year and Comet is now three years into the partnership having raised £450k by June 2009. For more information on how Comet have raised tremendous funds for ’Make-A-Wish Foundation’ please go here.
Source: News Comet
Dan Kennedy & Saira O'Sullivan
What is the Make A Wish Foundation?
“Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening illnesses. Since being established in the UK in 1986, we have granted over 5,700 wishes.”
We took that quote from their own site, as it puts it so well. You can read more about this amazing charity and the wonderful people who work with the foundation and those who support it, here.
Saira and Dan…
Saira and Dan, along with the rest of the Comet staff, are having a fun charity day this Friday 2nd April (bank holiday). Donned in fancy dress, the staff at Comet will be holding a raffle with a wide range of prizes including a months family membership to the Nufield Health & Wellbeing Centre. There will also be informative demonstrations on new products from LG and Dyson. Along with brilliant deals on products in store for the bank holiday, the day is set to be a hit.
Staff at Comets in Crawley
After the fun has subsided from the fun…d raising day it will be time for Saira and Dan to put their training into action. On the 21st September Saira and Dan will be flying to Morocco to go on a trek up the Jebel Toubkal, the tallest Mountain in North Africa. Both have never done anything like this before, but were very excited and spurred on by the end result. They both agreed there main goal is to hit the target for Make A Wish Foundation. Saira and Dan return on the 26th September. We wish them both well and look forward to seeing the pictures and reporting on their journey.
The Comet Store in Crawley
Have you been thinking of purchasing a new electrical item lately? Why not pop in to Comet on Friday 2nd April to see what they have on offer and to support Saira, Dan and the rest of the staff who work for Comet.
Would you like to donate to their raffle? You would! Great, give them a call on 0844 800 9595 or pop in to see them here.
Would you like to donate to Saira & Dan’s cause?
Please visit here to support Dan. Please visit here to support Saira, or both if you can! The littlest amount is more than enough!
Video
Are you having a fund raising event? Let us know on 01293 572182
A Crawley-based company that supplies medical equipment to hospitals and clinics throughout the world has raised over £11,000 in aid of a local charity.
Varian Medical Systems is a worldwide manufacturer of integrated cancer care systems. The company – which employs over 200 people at its Crawley manufacturing, engineering, sales and service centre – chose St Catherine’s Hospice as its charity of the year in September 2008. In the 12 months since then, the staff at Varian have supported the hospice through a variety of activities, including:
• blue bag donations to St Catherine’s charity shops, which raised nearly £1,000
• participation in the Flora London Marathon by Varian employee, Michelle Cook, whose sponsorship totalled over £1,800
• a summer ball which raised over £1,000
• a Christmas raffle which collected over £700
• a bike ride which raised over £500
St Catherine’s provides specialised end of life care and support for local patients and their families, friends and carers in Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and East Surrey.
Matthew Cornish, Corporate Fundraiser at St Catherine’s, said: “We were delighted when Varian chose us as their charity of the year. The ongoing commitment and enthusiasm of their staff has been really impressive, and greatly appreciated by everyone at St Catherine’s. We hope their example may encourage other businesses to support us in this way.”
Rosemary Myles, Charities Team Leader at Varian, said: “When you are asking people within your company to support a charity throughout the year, it is hard to go back to them again and again asking for support for different fundraising initiatives, but at Varian we do, and the great thing is that there always seem to be enough people willing to give their time and money.
“St Catherine’s was nominated as our charity of the year by one of our employees and it has certainly proved to be a popular choice. So many people know of someone who has benefited from the wonderful care provided by the hospice, and I am sure that provided the motivation needed to enable us not only to achieve our fundraising target of £10,000, but to exceed it!”
For further information about the many ways in which businesses can support
St Catherine’s, please call 01293 447365, email matthewcornish@stch.org or visit www.stch.org.uk
On Sunday, 6th September 2009, companies from all over the county donned their tribal colours and set off to Tilgate Lakes, Crawley, for the 7th Annual Dragon Boat Race Festival.
Baker Tilly. Capt. Gerrard Weide
Elementus. Capt. Emma Thomas
Organised by, and held on behalf of St. Catherine’s Hospice, the day was full of entertainment, great camaraderie, friends, family and good food.
Teams consisting of thirteen people were challenged to several gruelling boat races in some spectacular (and extremely expensive looking) dragon boats across the length of Tilgate Lake. The teams fought it out until there are 6 teams left who then had a race to the post to ascertain the winners.
Edwards of Crawley. Capt. Miles Firth
Edwards of Burgess Hill. Capt. Richard Fawdrey
Virgin Atlantic. Capt. Paul Rickard
There were some brilliant and innovative outfits this year. A special identity is essential as this helps the spectators recognise who to shout encouragement to! Most had matching colours with their company name or logo visible, some went a little further and painted their bodies green with green outfits or dressed as vikings with hats and horns. Some wore clown hats and another team dressed up as the Flintstones.
Deloitte. Capt. Kat Bradley
Barclays Bank. Capt. David Owen
The teams who entered have been working hard since February this year to raise money for St Catherine’s Hospice which goes towards the total raised on the day. Matthew Cornish, Corporate Fund Raiser for St Catherine’s Hospice, told us he believes a massive £50,000 had been raised this year but the total has yet to be confirmed. The most raised in one year’s Dragon Boat Festival was a staggering £58,000! All of the money raised goes to such a great cause which, eventually, affects everyone.
We were blessed on this Sunday as the weather was as good as it gets. The sun popped out for most of the day and the rain stayed in. Mind you, we could not help but feel for some of the entrants who got quite wet whilst competing, as when the sun disappeared behind the clouds and the evening air started to settle in, drying off was a problem.
Guy Salmon. Capt. Des Campbell
Doosan Babcock Energy. Capt. Jacqui Lucas
Halcrow. Capt. Robert Kleinjan
It was a simple affair really, with food either being made and bought as a picnic or prepared by the very friendly and clean vans from Wynnings & Weaver who have food ranging from pies and pastries, burgers, baguettes and even yummy donuts. Owner Serena Wyatt told us it was lovely to be part of such a great day and was happily donating a percentage of the takings to St Catherine’s Hospice. Alongside the food vans were anotherthree selling toys and other handy items to keep the children happy (kites, frisbees etc.) all manned by volunteers of St Catherine’s Hospice. Thank you: your hard work did not go unnoticed. The whole day was all about the cause, which was really refreshing.
A J Walter Aviation. Capt. Angela Westwood
Enterprise Rent A Car. Capt. Katie Andrews
Capita Symonds. Capt. Jackie Fraser
We had the usual suspects looking after our well being. The local constabulary were keeping a quiet, watchful eye on proceedings. Our thanks go to PCSO Steve West, PCSO Andreanna Woods, PCSO Wendy Johnstone and PCSO Lindsay Haggart. We also thank St John’s Ambulance who looked after anyone with injuries. While we were taking their picture they were nursing a young lad who seemed to have banged his head slightly but we do not think there was anything more serious than that.
Coutts & Co. Capt. Chris Hemblade
Varian Medical Systems. Capt. Steve Pullem
Just Retirement. Capt. Pauline Graham
As a town we should be very proud of our Mayor. The Worshipful the Mayor Brenda Burgess makes sure she is present at any event which includes the community and this event was no exception. Mayor Brenda Burgess and her husband, Three Bridges ward Councillor Bob Burgess, were happily walking round talking to all the teams and their supporters. Not every town has such a dedicated devoted Mayor. It is always a pleasure to see Mayor Brenda Burgess and her husband. Accompanying the Mayor were Rebecca Day, and Rosemary Cowley, who is the Chairman of Trustees for St Catherine’s Hospice.
Richard Place Dobson. Capt. Melissa Morrison-Hardwick
G4S Cash Services. Capt. Nikki Greenfield
G4S Care & Justice. Capt. Stephen Wilson
We were also honoured to have three exceptionally smart gentlemen from Corps Security. Peter Lewis, Branch Manager, Richard Cleaver and Peter Reid wore their uniforms with pride and went on to tell us they are due to have their 50th anniversary shortly, so watch this space for more information.
CGG Veritas. Capt. Keith Driver
Bard. Capts. Kate Palmer & Hannah Mullane
Entertainment was forthcoming in the shape of the Crawley Blackbelt Academy led by Wayne Beadell; and Nam Yang of Epsom, who were led by Maria Wanless. Great displays of artistic control and discipline were demonstrated by both organisations.
The day would not have been possible without all the hard work by Dragon Boat Events. This wonderful company has helped raise over £5 m for charities and have travelled worldwide with their fantastic set up. Dragon Boat Events take a fixed fee for their efforts, leaving the rest of the money to go to the allocated charities. For anyone thinking of having such an event, these guys are definitely the ones to call. They are well organised, polite, friendly and completely professional. They set the whole day off with a great speaker system including requests for songs in between the races, compered by their own Bill Handley who kept us up-to-date with the results of the races. Excellent work from Dragon Boat Events. We’re sure we speak for us everyone when we say thank you.
BAA. Capt. Steve Wirths
Crawley Borough Council. Capt. Gary Povey
Broadfield East Junior School. Capt. Sue Gascoine
So when all had been said and done, it came down to the last race. Six eager looking teams boarded their boats and took to the starting line. The whistle went and the race started. It was neck-a-neck and all rowed like their lives depended on it. It really was the most exciting part of the day and all the people attending were at the edge of the lake, cheering on their preferred team. It seemed forever before we eventually heard the results, with last year’s winners Tilgate Warriors nervously waiting to see if they had been usurped. We will not spoil the outcome for you. Instead we filmed the last race and the award presentations. Maybe you can experience some of the exciting atmosphere we all enjoyed!
Crawley News. Capt. Glenn Ebrey
Cho Wa Ju Jitsu Kwai aka Tilgate Warriors. Capt. David O'Doherty
More Than Dragons. Capt. Jen Edwards
If you were unable to make this year’s event, we suggest putting a date in your diary for next year as not only was it the most spectacular event we have had the pleasure of attending this year but it is completely FREE to attend. You could always go one better and enter a team! If you’d like to enter for next year, please contact Matthew Cornish, Corporate Fund Raiser on 01293 447365 or email matthewcornish@stch.org.uk
Thomas Eggar. Capt. Simon Bomford
Crawley Happy Times Online are keen on being part of this fantastic event next year, so if you feel you would like to be on our team and/or help raise funds throughout the year, then please contact Shelley on 01293 572182 or email shelley@crawleyhappytimes.co.uk
On Saturday we joined The Connoisseurs at The White Knight in Pound Hill for their charity fundraiser day. The sun shone, the music played, the food was eaten and the charity fund went up and up.
Getting the kids involved
The Beautiful Fuzzilicious Fresh
We had the pleasure of speaking to the guys who put so much effort into making the day a great success and they told us they felt there were not enough opportunities for youngsters to participate in fundraising. In light of this, they put this day together in a way they felt would attract the younger side of the community. They certainly got it right! You can hear more from the guys in the interview at the bottom of the page.
Females get funky
It really was a wonderful day. From 14:00 onwards, each DJ took it in turns to play their selected preference of music, ranging from happy house to heavy drum and bass. First up we had the pleasure of the beautiful Fuzzilicious Fresh. A local female DJ, who told us that, to be any good, you must know your music and what your audience will want to hear. Fuzzilicious Fresh played some brilliant garage tunes for us.
Cherry… fly?
Next up, we were honoured with another female DJ who goes by the name of Cherry Fly. Cherry Fly wore an amazing black & purple outfit and blasted out some great house tunes. She told us she feels that a good education is a great asset to have, even when DJing: Cherry Fly went to college to advance her music knowledge along with her mixing skills and would encourage others to do the same.
The wonderful Cherry Fly
Filling our tums
Meanwhile, the hot dogs and burgers were flying off the grill. Dave Winbolt was the ‘chef’ for the day, assisted intermittently by Scott ‘Ronson’ Clarke. Dave created some delectable food at a reasonable cost, with all proceeds going to the nominated charity of the day, St Catherine’s Hospice.
Dave Winbolt & Scott 'Ronson' Clarke
Baby steps to dance diva?
My burger was cooked to perfection: I thoroughly enjoyed it! Everyone seemed to be having a whale of a time; one particular lad stood on the steps ‘cutting’ some moves to the tunes, especially as he could only have been about eighteen months old!
Cut Swifty mixing it up
Keefos on the decks
Dan Gee bangin' out the beats
Vibrant duo Del Santiago & Pierre Monnoit
Cut Swifty was the next DJ to entertain the ever growing crowd of supporters. Followed by Keefos, Dan Gee, Del Santiago & Pierre Monnoit (Multiplayerz), then last, but not least Marcus Lee, this was a night to remember.
The White Knight: Management
Marcus Lee making his mark
In amongst the revellers, running around keeping everyone happy and the place clean and tidy, were landlord and landlady of the White Knight, Bridgette and John. They have supported this event from the start and were honoured to have it held in the White Knight.
The White Knight public house is a splendid place to hold this type of event due to the space and atmosphere of the building. There are pool tables, darts and large flat screen TVs for the sports enthusiasts and a neat dance floor, with a stage for the DJs which also includes a convenient communal area around the dance floor which is great for private parties. We found the toilets were consistently clean and tidy and the service prompt and friendly. Bridgette and John told us all about their involvement- they told us it was a brilliant way to raise money for such a worthy cause, and they look forward to hosting other similar events in the future. A highly recommended location, in our humble opinion. For more information on the White Knight and its management, please watch the interview below.
So.. how much £££ did they make?
Always service with a smile
The White Knight, Pound Hill, Crawley
As the day drew to an end, the donation buckets started to fill up with donations from those jingling any change in pockets. We are pleased to announce the total amount raised for St Catherine’s Hospice came to a whopping £470! Dan told us that they hope this is the first of many fund raising events; we think they may be on to a winner and hope to be invited to the next one. Well done!
P.S. I believe Dan is already planning part two… watch this space….!
And of course, a big thank you to all those, who are still under treatment but came to support and walk the course. Amazing!
