ST MARY'S NEXT TOP MODEL!

We are looking for models, male and female, of all shapes and sizes, to take part in our fashion show on Thursday 18th August 2011 at The Nines, Barrow in Furness.

Models will perform on the catwalk in front of an audience, wearing clothing collections from the St Mary’s shops and Debenhams. Models will be pampered with hair styling and makeup by local salons and beauticians.

The event starts at 7.30pm but models will be expected to arrive earlier and the show may run until quite late.

Further details of the event will be released soon.

If you are interested please call Hannah or Natalie on 01229 580305 or email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk

Leven Valley Summer Fair

Inspector Kevin Spedding was banged in the stocks and pelted with water-soaked sponges in aid of St Mary’s at the popular annual fair and car boot sale hosted by the Leven Valley Support Group, which took place on June 19th and was a great success.

The event, on Haverthwaite playing fields, attracts hundreds of visitors for a fun-filled family day out.

Insp Spedding, who is responsible for policing in Ulverston and the surrounding areas said: “It was an excellent day and all a good example of community officers getting involved.”

After locals had grown bored of pelting him with sponges, a group of local children had a whip-round and managed to raise £50 to pour three buckets of water over him.

The Leven Valley Support Group has raised thousands of pounds for St Mary’s over the years and will be presenting a cheque to St Mary’s staff for funds raised during 2010-11 on the 22nd July.

Thank you to Ready Steady Go Scooter Club!

We would like to thank Ready Steady Go Scooter Club for raising a brilliant £250 at their recent Northern Soul & Motown Night which took place on 4th July at Furness Cricket Club, Barrow-in-Furness.

Pictured: Members of the club present a cheque to Zoe Guest of St Mary's Hospice.

Band on the Terrace

The sun shone during the afternoon of the 29th June when the South Cumbria Retirement Brass band came to play on the terrace at the Orangery cafe. All who attended enjoyed an hour of wonderful music while sipping tea and part-taking in light refreshments from the cafe.

During the afternoon we are delighted to announce that we raised over £100 in donations. All at St Mary’s would like to thank the band so much for giving up their free time to come and play for patients and visitors. It is hoped that they will be able to come again later in the year.

St Bernard's raises £281.45!

We would like to thank the pupils of St Bernard's School, Barrow-in-Furness, for raising a fantastic £281.45 for St Mary's! The pupils of class 5B hosted a musical evening - 'Believe' - featuring the songs of teen heart-throb Justin Bieber. The true stars of the show were Hope Armstrong and Danielle Messenger (pictured) who organised and hosted the show.

Charity Skydive – Saturday 13th August 2011

Imagine standing at the edge of an open doorway in an aircraft flying at 10,000 feet - the noise of the engines and the wind ringing in your ears with only the outline of distant fields below. Now imagine leaning forward out of that doorway and letting go - falling forward into the clouds, diving down through the air as you start freefalling at over 120mph! Then imagine the peace and quiet as the canopy opens, the steering toggles come down either side of you and you begin a tranquil parachute descent from a mile up in the air, steering yourself back down to the centre of the drop zone below. Imagine being able to do this for FREE whilst harnessed to a professional freefall parachute instructor and at the same time being able to help St Mary's! Stop imagining, it's real and it's happening all the time and you can be part of it...

We are looking for people from all over the country to make a sponsored 10,000 feet freefall parachute jump on our behalf and in return we are willing to pay for it! All we ask is that you raise £350 in sponsorship money in order for you to jump for free and in turn we will receive an average donation of £135. In addition to this, every extra pound that you raise over the minimum comes straight to the hospice.

The Skydive will take place on Saturday 13th August at the North West Parachute Jump Centre, Cark Airfield, Flookburgh.

For further information or a registration pack please contact Hannah on 01229 580305 or email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk. Registration packs are also available to download from www.stmaryshospice.org

Please note that there are limited places so don’t delay in sending your booking form off. Skydiving is a weather dependent activity so the pre-arranged date of your jump may be subject to change.

Carnival Glows in Summer Sunshine

Thousands of people lined the sun-soaked pavements to watch the Ulverston carnival on Saturday 2nd July. A burst of bright colours and music signalled the start of the parade, which featured more than 100 different floats, bands, dance troupes and decorated vehicles, from Ford Park.

Clog dancers, a fiddle-player and Ulverston Town Band were just some of the carnival participants getting the party atmosphere going and it was alive and kicking as revellers began dancing alongside those taking part in the parade. The usual array of colourful costumes from dancers could be seen, along with Ulverstonian hallmarks the Sons of the Desert, members of the Laurel and Hardy fan club.

After the procession made its way through packed town centre streets, it finished in Ford Park, where a gala got underway. Swarms of families descended on the park all day to enjoy fairground rides, stalls and the dancing competitions.

Zoe Guest, Funding & Operations Manager, who took part in the parade, said: “It was a lovely summer’s day, and the town centre was packed. It is hoped that we will have raised lots of money for St Mary’s, which is this year’s chosen charity for the event. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the whole day went really well and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves.”

In a show of true carnival spirit, Ulverston Mayor, Councillor Pat Jones took to the stocks for a soaking in the town square before the parade kicked off. Other local dignitaries, including Reverend Alan Bing of Ulverston Parish Church and Mr Spours were also pelted with wet sponges in the name of fun, raising £1,850 for charity in just 30 minutes.