Christmas with Efflorescence

Christmas Demonstration and Workshop

Thursday 3rd December 2009

Trinity Church Centre, Warwick Street, Barrow in Furness

6pm - 9pm

The first session will be a demonstration of Christmas designs which will be sold at the end of the evening. The second session will be a 'hands on' workshop where you will get to make a design of your choice to take home for Christmas.

There will be a large selection of fresh and artificial seasonal materials to work with, traditional and modern.

Tickets are £20 each, which will include all materials and seasonal refreshments. Tickets will be on sale at the Efflorescence Studio, Ironworks Road, Barrow-in-Furness (Tel 01229 824418).

If you would like to view some of the designs please feel free to call into the studio any time. Opening times Tuesday to Friday 9am - 5pm.

All proceeds will go to:

St Mary's Hospice

and

Macmillan Nurses

Dalton Christmas Tree Festival

This ever popular Christmas event is open in St Mary's Church, Dalton, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 29th November through until 3rd January 2010. Each year a team of St Mary's volunteers gets together to make the decorations for our tree. This year the theme is "games, puzzles, pastimes", so we decided to base our tree around the idea of gardening and use of the hospice garden. Our tree this year is called “Natures’ Bounty – therapeutic gardening at St Marys”. We have made decorations using cones, seed heads, fruits and berries from the garden. We are pleased to have a prime position in the church which will hopefully raise us lots of money. Last year we collected more than £700. It is a fantastic sight so do go and see for yourself!

Thank you to Urswick Brownies!

A big thank you goes out to the Urswick Brownie group. The girls held a coffee evening and raised a fantastic £130.76!

Belt it Out

Anna Kydd wanted to raise money for St Mary's Hospice after her Grandfather, Reverend Bruce Blantern, received their care in May 2007. With a love for music, Anna decided to record an album in memory of her Grandfather with the help of her friends. The album is a compilation of Christian songs that reflect Anna and her Grandfather's faith. Bruce was the Minister at Ulverston Methodist Church for many years.

Kindly donating all of the profits to St Mary's, Anna has raised a wonderful £940. She commented "Thank you for all that you do at the Hospice. Me and my family are so grateful for all the love and support Bruce got in his last 3 weeks here."

Sponsored Head Shave!

We would like to say a big thank you to Martin Harrison of Ulverston who decided that a sponsored head shave would be a brilliant way to raise funds for St Mary's Hospice. As Martin lost his beloved locks, he managed to raise a fantastic £910.75p.

Do you fancy a fun and exciting challenge with the added bonus of making a difference at the same time? There are hundreds of enjoyable ways to help raise funds for St Mary's! If you would like to see your innovative idea come to life please email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk or call our Fundraising Team on 01229 580305.

Thank you to the Wardman family

We would like to thank the Wardman family for their very kind donation to St Mary's Hospice. Mrs Annie Wardman recently celebrated her 100th birthday. As she put it 'there isn't much one needs when you get to 100 years of age', so she decided that if people wished to mark this wonderful occasion,a donation for the Hospice would be appreciated. Consequently, a fantastic £570 was raised. Janice Wardman, speaking on behalf of the family stated 'We know this will be put to good use, and speaking for many people, we would like to thank you all for the good work you undertake.'

Coast to Coast for St Mary's

We would like to thank Charlie Raine for embarking on a Coast to Coast cycle venture with the aim to raise funds for St Mary's Hospice. The following is an account from Charlie of his trip from Walney Island to Whitby:

I was asked if I would like to join a group of friends from Market Rasen Round Table, who were organising a bike ride to raise funds for a local charity. I decided to take up the challenge and take the opportunity to raise money for St Mary’s Hospice in Ulverston.

I chose to raise money for St Mary’s because of the care my Grandma, Celia Raine, received during her illness. The date was set for 13-15 September. There were nine riders and three people providing support.

Day 1 – 38 miles

We started out from Sandy Gap beach, Walney. The sun was shinning, water bottles filled and tyres checked. We all dipped our back wheels in the sea before hitting the road. Our route was to take us along the coast road to Ulverston, through to Newby Bridge before heading north towards Windermere. We then turned east passing through Crook ending in Kendal. The first day was completed with only one puncture.

Day 2 – 78 miles

An early start out of Kendal to Osmotherly, North Yorkshire. We took an easterly route through Sedbergh, Hawes and Leyburn before arriving at Osmotherly. This was our longest day on the bike at 78 miles. After a long climb out of Kendal we were soon approaching Sedbergh. Unfortunately I fell victim to a Land Rover who failed to notice that there were eight cyclists on the road and proceeded to knock me off my bike. My dad picked up my bike checked it was alright then asked if I was ok. Sore, battered and bruised I continued on my way.

Day 3 – 35 miles

We had an early start from the Hostel at Osmotherly. The day started with grey clouds, which soon turned to rain. Counting down the miles to the finish in Whitby, we continued to push on across the moors. The rain finally eased as we approached Whitby, making the final few hills a little easier. We all regrouped for our final mug of tea and a Hob Nob biscuit, before a 5 mile run, downhill to Whitby Harbour.

Our reward after 151 miles on the road was lunch at “The Magpie” fish and chip restaurant.

I was able to raise £170 for St Mary’s Hospice, it was exhausting and painful at times but an enjoyable weekend. Would I do it again? Yes.