Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Coffee with a Difference in Millom

The staff of St Mary’s Hospice, would like to thank the volunteer team from Millom shop so much for organizing and running a coffee with a difference afternoon on Friday 28th October at the Tin Chapel. We are delighted to announce that the team raised £496 from the event in 2 hours, which is a wonderful achievement.

The afternoon was a great success with everyone coming along from the Millom community to offer their support and we really appreciate all their help.

Voices for Hospices 2011!

Our Voices for Hospice event, sponsored by the Best of Barrow and Furness, raised the roof of the Lisdoonie Hotel in Abbey Road, Barrow on Thursday 27th October.

The event, first held in 2009, paired well-known people from the community with local entertainers to produce a musical extravaganza to raise money for St Mary’s.

Over 180 people packed into the hotel’s ballroom to watch a show, which raised £1,367for St Mary's.

The event was kicked off by compere Pete Murphy, who introduced the first pair – Barrow town centre and festivals manager Ann Taylforth and her pro partner, Danielle McCauley.

Watched by the judging panel of Billy Caldwell, Derek Brook and Helen Penny (who gave interesting commentary throughout the night) the crowd were treated to a bouncy rendition of "Build Me Up Buttercup".

Barrow AFC commercial manager Martin Lewis joined Dan Clark from Codejak, whilst the Hospice’s own Sue McGraw and Melissa Thompson sported matching outfits for the Steps song “One for Sorrow.”

The Evening Mail’s Rob Johnson took the role of the Edge, with flamboyant entertainer Pete Thompson playing Bono for a rendition of U2’s “With or Without You.” And the pint-sized news editor blew the crowd away with a powerful performance.

Dalton’s the Reverend Alan Mitchell joined veteran entertainer Dennis Hume on stage, and Barrow AFC legend Neil ‘the Doc’ Doherty and Beth Wilkes set their stall out as early favourites with a great version of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”

After a short break when a stampede was avoided at the buffet, the music resumed as the pairs performed their second number of the evening.

CodeJak singer Dan Clarke looked more at ease singing Foo Fighters hit “The Pretender” with partner Martin Lewis donning a blonde wig! Sue McGraw and Melissa Thompson again went for a matching theme, with some sparkly headgear, as they belted out "Edge of Glory". And the crowd got more than they bargained for as Pete Thompson stripped to his boxers and gyrated alongside Rob Johnson during "Disco 2000". And they were also treated to a raunchy performance of “Cry Me a River” by Poole Townsend’s Martin Oates and Lisa Hart. The Bay’s Rochelle Berry joined local singer Lindsey for a stirring rendition of Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain.” Janet Helm from Cumbria Fire and Rescue and Sarah Talbot ended the performance to rapturous applause from the increasingly enthusiastic audience.

However, it was the former AFC winger Doherty and vocalist Beth Wilkes who got the audience vote and snatched the trophy by one point.

Wednesday, 26 October 2011

An Evening with Henry Olonga


We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting an evening with Henry Olonga on Friday 28th October 2011, at Ulverston Golf Club, Priory Road, Ulverston.

Guest Speaker for the evening will be former Zimbabwean test cricketer, Henry Olonga. Henry made his international debut in 1995, becoming the youngest player to represent Zimbabwe. He helped Zimbabwe to its first ever Test victory in that game.

A right arm fast bowler, Olonga was the first black cricketer to play for Zimbabwe. Olonga achieved international recognition (along with team mate Andy Flower) in 2003 by wearing a black armband in a Cricket World Cup match to protest against the policies of Zimbabwe's government, led by Robert Mugabe. This act led to a warrant issued in Zimbabwe for Olonga's arrest on charges of treason (which carries the death penalty in Zimbabwe) and forced him to retire from international cricket and temporarily go into hiding.

Henry also has a superb voice and is an emerging tenor, recently releasing a CD entitled “Aurelia”. He has a foundation that lies in being afforded leading roles in productions such as the Gondoliers, Annie Get Your Gun, and Joseph and his Technicolor Dream-coat and in addition, to speaking about his time in test cricket, Olonga will also be singing for the audience on the 28th October.

Tickets for the event are available now and are priced at £10. The evening will commence at 7.30pm.

Henry will be bringing along signed copies of his book and CD to purchase.

For further information please contact St Mary’s Fundraising Team on 01229 580305 or email events@stmaryshospice.org.uk

A magical £329.60 is raised for St Mary's

A fabulous evening has had by all who attended the North West Society of Magicians annual stage competition at the Lisdoonie Hotel, Barrow on Wednesday 19th October. An audience of over 100 people were treated to some amazing tricks and illusions from the 8 performers who each performed for 10 minutes.

This year the event was held to raise funds for St Mary’s Hospice and we are delighted to announce the evening raised £329.60, which is an absolutely amazing achievement.

St Mary’s staff were delighted to attend the event and present the prizes to all the winners. This year the main award went to Terry and Michelle with Dave Simpson a close second. The comedy cup went to Richie Cottam.

Our thanks go to the Lisdoonie, and all the performers, and all who attended and made it a lovely event.

Ulverston Auction Mart raise £1457!


Zoe Guest and Lorraine Irving were delighted to be presented with a cheque for £1457.49 at Ulverston Auction Mart by Ian Walker on Tuesday 18th October. The funds had been raised for St Mary’s at the weekly car boot sales held at the auction mart arranged by the farmers and auction mart staff.

All the staff at St Mary’s really appreciate all the support shown to the charity by the auction mart and car booters who have raised funds for St Mary’s for many years. It is a fantastic achievement to raise such a large sum of money and we are really grateful for all the support.

Imperial School of Dance raise £600 for St Mary's


Zoe Guest, St Mary's Funding & Operations Manager was delighted to be presented with a cheque for £600 on Saturday 15th October by children from the Imperial School of Dance. The donation was raised at their annual show “Dance Krazy” performed by the pupils in December 2010. The show marked the 25th anniversary year for the dance school.

All the staff at St Mary’s really appreciate all the support shown to the charity by the dance school who have raised funds for St Mary’s for many years. It is a fantastic achievement to raise such a large sum of money and we are really grateful.

Netball enthusiasts honour memory of teacher

Netball enthusiasts from across the North braved wet weather to take part in a tournament to honour the memory of a popular teacher and coach.

Hundreds of people turned out to the Gillian Blain Netball Tournament on Saturday 9th September, held at the Dash sports centre at Dowdales in Dalton, where she taught PE until her death from cancer in April 2010 aged 48.

The annual event, now in its second year, is organised by Lindal Netball Club, where mother-of-two Mrs Blain was a coach.

This year the event raised money for Furness General Hospital – as she received treatment at the oncology unit – and St Mary’s.

A downpour failed to dampen the spirits of the 24 teams, some of whom came from as far afield as Newcastle, Manchester and Preston, to battle it out in 81 games of netball to claim the trophy.

Lindal Netball member Rebecca Griffin rallied support from colleagues at HSBC bank in Barrow, who helped out on the day. The branch agreed to double the amount raised on the day, bringing the grand total to £8,000 and St Mary’s were delighted to receive a donation of £4000 on the 13th October.

Stephanie Blain, Mrs Blain’s daughter, said: “We would like to thank Dowdales for the use of the courts, Lakeside Hotel for donating the main prize, HSBC Barrow and everyone involved. It was a great day.”

St Mary’s would like to thank the team for organising such a successful event and for raising lots of money for the hospice. It is greatly appreciated.