Nearly there - just wanted to thank everyone for all their kind donations to St Michael's Hospice.

And special thanks to Homeworks (Knaresborough High St), www.visitdrumnadrochit.com (Holidays around Loch Ness), Chaophraya (Leeds Thai restaurant) and the Everyman Cinema (Leeds) for their support.

Held annually since 1966, the Knaresborough Bed Race is part fancy dress pageant, part gruelling time trial, and has become one of the largest community events in the north of England. It is a volunteer event with an estimated £100,000 being raised for good causes in each of the past couple of years.

This year's race is on 8 June - it is a great fun day out, starting around 10am in Castle Yard - see http://www.knaresborough.co.uk/bedrace/programme.htm for the full timetable.

The field is of 90 teams of six runners and a passenger. The race is about 3 miles long and involves six runners pushing a bed with a passenger around a course based around Knaresborough town centre and culminating in a swim across the river Nidd with the bed to the finish line on the other side.

This year's theme is 'Myths and Legends' - we have chosen 'The Loch Ness Monster'. In keeping with this theme we will be dressed in 'authentic' scottish attire and will be distributing shortbread on our parade through the town.