STOP PRESS

OUR SPECIAL THANKS TO A WONDERFUL COUPLE 

 

Richard & Pam Hastie survived the Tsunami, and experienced first hand the work of the Red Cross in dealing with the aftermath of that disaster.  As a response to seeing this dedicated work they felt that they wanted to raise funds for the charity, so they decided that during their Ruby Wedding anniversary year they would hold a fundraising event every month for this purpose.

Month by month they have shown tremendous energy and innovation in the events held and have been rewarded by local businesses providing help and their many friends supporting the events in numbers. 

We were present at the final event on the 26^th January, a grand ball, which was a huge success, where we were presented with a cheque for £5,500, with the promise of more to come from the auction and raffle on the night itself. 

We can only say how very grateful we are to Richard and Pam who have worked tirelessly for 12 months to ensure the success of their ‘thank you’ and that their supreme effort will make a very big difference to those people in crisis situations who rely upon the help they receive from the Red Cross.

Margaret Tyrrell, David Jones: Red Cross workers.

Above received from The Red cross thank you.

The Hastie's return.

Well thank you Di for your kind words I can't better what has already been said so won't bore you and try.  Richard and I sincerly hope everyone who attended the ball enjoyed it as much as Di and ourselves ! Thanks to everyone involved in making it such a spectacular success.

THE BEST NEWS EVER IS THE TOTAL RAISED IN OUR RUBY WEDDING CHALLENGE INCLUDING THE GIFT AID TAX REFUND IS £11,458.

We are so proud of our year and it has gone a little way to repay our debt of gratitude to the Red Cross.

We had a very relaxing time on Holiday in Saint Lucia and must thank Di for taking care of our press release,also Heather Whitworth and David Roberts for sorting out the £3000 worth of auction prizes. Words fail me at the genorousity of everyone at the Ball the raffle raised a further £700.

We have had a fantastic year and met some lovely people , we will be presenting the cheque to The British Red Cross on 6 March. I will let you know how that goes and then you will have some peace and quiet off me (if you are lucky). You are special people Thank you.

The Red Cross Ball January 26 .... 2008

                                 A view from Di Marriott

Pam has given me the privilege of writing this piece on her Justgiving webpage, so whilst it is a personal account I am sure I am writing on behalf of everyone who attended this glorious event.

WOW! What a fabulous night – we knew it would be good but how could we have expected it to be so brilliant! Pam certainly knows how to put on a party. This final event, The Red Cross Ball, the pinnacle of her and Richard’s Ruby Wedding challenge gave her the opportunity to exert all her energies and talents as well as putting a few bullying tactics to work! Who would think that the GF social club could be so totally transformed? The vision, foresight, planning and attention to detail were absolutely admirable, from the path lighting on the way in, the drapes and dressed chairs, feathers and the chandeliers. I understand that Pam has a few potential bookings for table dressing in the offing!

There was a tight schedule of events to keep to, so an early start on the bucks fizz helped the evening off on its intoxicating path. The ambient tones of Geoff Smith’s piano playing on entrance enhanced the party mood, then Terry Lee helped us all smile (not to cheesily I hope!) for our photos. I shall treasure mine as it will be only the second time I have worn a dress for about 10 years! (The last time was of course at Pam’s Casino night!) The food, an essential ingredient to any successful ball was excellent, a real credit to Kim and her team to produce such good quality and tasty food for so many guests with limited cooking facilities. Prior to a very successful auction, David (Marriott) gave a particularly well received speech reminding us all how much Pam and Richard have achieved on this Ruby Challenge; I was quite moved, and I know Pam and Richard were too. The auction was efficiently hosted by local author Mark Barnes (the man to go to if you want a book on Business Studies) and raised just under £3000. It was an interesting event from my table’s perspective, with my sister’s partner bidding against my friend Anni for the House of Commons trip (Roger won out in the end), and David and Alex both bidding for the lovely glass ornament donated by local artist Amanda Noble – each of them bidding with the intention of giving it to me! A little collusion may have helped, but hey – more for the coffers of the Red Cross! There were some generous auction prizes, and some very generous bidders; personally I want to thank those who bid for my massages.

The dancing girls from Joanne Mills School of Dancing provided a glamorous and colourful spectre, the highlight of course being Sandy Shaw (aka Pam Hastie) making her debut! As if all this wasn’t enough fun, on came the fabulous Blue Meanies, and I don’t think there was a single person who could resist putting on their dancing shoes and bopping the rest of the night away.

I think I can speak on behalf of all of us attending when I say how much we enjoyed this tremendously successful event. Thanks from the bottom of my heart to Pam and Richard, and all who contributed.
There are very many people to thank. On Behalf of Pam and Richard thanks go to the following:
Ranji, Kal and Naveen, for providing the wonderful post Ball brunch at the Granary, Jo and Lee Herbert of Gastech Heating the main Ball sponsors, Andrew and Nicky Gerrard again for their much appreciated donation, Gary and Sue Mitchell of Display Graphics for the banner, Dawn and Pugger for arranging the holiday in St Lucia and banner, Justine and Stewart of Chocolate Ripple for helping big time with ball décor, Ken and Jane from Sweet Celebrations for balloon arches, GF Social Club especially Claire behind the bar, Kim Fowler chef, Geoff Smith pianist, Terry Lee of www.leeimages.co.uk, Sam of Castle Flowers and Gemma, the wonderful Blue Meanies, the Joanne Mills school of dance, Mark Barnes auctioneer and his helpers David and Linda, David and Caroline Jones and Margaret Tyrell from the British Red Cross, Barry Fowkes for the brillient artwork on tickets and posters, Will of Majestic Wine, Heather and Jossie for photo gallery, and last but not least the tidy uppers including  son-in law Simon, Kim our chef and friend, beautiful Naveen and Ranji.

Pam.totalwellbeing@btinternet.com. Phone 01295 255550

Thank you  for visiting our fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor us online.

To demonstrate our gratitude to The British Red Cross, and to celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary, we are undertaking 12 monthly challenges, started in January when Pam did a sponsored silence during the spinning classes at Spiceball Park Sports Centre. In February our friends Ranjy and Kal hosted a curry night for us at the Granary Restaurant in Butchers Row Banbury. In March there was a quiz on St. Patrick's night and in April Richard swam 40km, the distance of the English Channel. June 9  was the Wine Tasting evening and in August there was to be a Bonfire and BBQ by the Lake at Leys Farm Swerford  but rain stopped play .Also in August  Pam ,Richard and Simon took part in the London Triathlon. In September ourselves and friends completed a 16km  walk . On Sept 29 Veritas Wine Bar hosted a Casino Royale evening with roulette, blackjack and other games, there was a James Bond theme - a very glamorous affair.  1st November  at The Woolpack, Banbury Cross, there was a Pub quiz and in January a Ball and Charity Auction will complete our task so others will benefit from the services of The British Red Cross as we did in Sri Lanka on Boxing Day