Mayor Burgess with the bridal party

On Friday the 28th of August, Brenda Burgess, the Mayor of Crawley, joined the Gatwick Diamond Rotary Club for its second day of a four day extravaganza of events in and around Crawley.  The events were based round the World Wide Wedding Day and this was the third year Gatwick Diamond Rotary Club had got involved.  All those involved dressed up in wedding attire which helped to create a great atmosphere. [Ed- I saw one bride and bridesmaid wandering around Crawley market on Saturday and thought how beautiful, if incongruous, they looked!]

Manor Royal was the venue for both of the walks: on Thursday (the 27th) the brides ambled from the VW Dealer South to the Hazelwick Flyover and on Friday the 28th, they swept back the other way, from the VW Dealer North to Pizza Express.

All taking part in the walk thoroughly enjoyed themselves, whilst raising money for their three local charities; Brambles Respite Care Centre, St Catherine’s Hospice and Open House (The Mayor’s Charity).

The Mayor mentioned that this was a excellent way to meet the public and she that would be celebrating an anniversary of her own soon.  When asked to comment after the event she said  “I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was brilliant! I am due to celebrate my own Ruby Wedding later this year. Thank you. I had a great time.”

On Saturday (29th) Raffle Tickets were on sale outside the Marmaris Restaurant in the High Street.

On Sunday (30th) Gatwick Diamond Rotary Club had a Tombola stand at the Irish Festival in Southgate Playing Fields. During the day Mayor Burgess visited our stand and bought some tickets for the Tombola. To her surprise, she won a thirstquenching can of Guinness. At the end of the day, two draws took place and the winners were as follows:

‘Name the Teddy Bear’: won by Ticket No 4 – Sue of Crawley chose the name of ‘Boris’. Well done Sue!
Elaine, also of Crawley was the lucky winner of a trip for 20 to Hepworth Brewery. Elaine, if you’re reading, don’t forget to update Crawley Happy Times on how your trip went. That’s if you can remember it afterwards!

Over £300 was raised over the four days, which will be split among Brambles Respite Care Centre, St Catherine’s Hospice and Open House (The Mayor’s Charity).

Special thanks go to Becca Barnes who dressed up as the Bride, the Girls from Riva Hair Salon; Jasmine, Amanda and Tia the Bridesmaid (Amanda’s Daughter). We’d also like to thank The Mayor for dressing up as the mother of the Bride.

Clothes for the event were kindly supplied by Dickies Suit Hire.  We would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone else who helped to make this a successful and enjoyable event and we look forward to an even better one next year!

To see more pictures please visit the gallery (bridal pics are half way down the page). For regular updates on what Gatwick Diamond Rotary Club are doing, please follow them on Twitter or visit their website, where they have their blog and forums where people can chat about their good charity work.

~ Geoff Williamson, MultiMedia Chairman, Gatwick Diamond Rotary Club