A midsummer weekend of fundraising took place in Horatio’s Garden in aid of the charity and proved a tremendous success.
Activities started with a drinks party in the garden on Saturday evening. With musical entertainment from members of the British Paraorchestra, introduced by Charles Hazlewood, and sculptures by David Worthington on exhibition in the garden, a memorable evening was enjoyed by all. A lunch, kindly donated by Berry Bros & Rudd of St James’s, London was auctioned, raising an amazing £10,000. To see photo’s of the Summer Drinks Party, please visit the gallery.
On Sunday the beautiful garden again provided a perfect backdrop, this time for a Food and Plant Fair, which was supported by Marco Pierre White and Trudie Styler. Trudie opened the fair with warm words and wishes for the charity.
Over 1,400 visitors enjoyed a wide range of stalls selling some of the finest products of the local area, including hot and cold food, plants, garden paraphernalia and crafts.
Patients and volunteers battled it out in a cake competition, introduced by none other than Mel Giedroyc, Great British Bake-off presenter. A judging panel of former patients and members of the Chafyn Grove gardening club chose volunteer and former patient Dot Gurd’s deliciously tangy lemon cupcakes as the winning entry.
Mel has a very personal link with the garden as she used to visit a good friend, Giles when a patient in the spinal centre.
Visit the gallery to see photo’s of the Food and Plant Fair.
The weekend’s events raised a tremendous £30,000 which will be used to create a garden room for patients to enjoy Horatio’s Garden even on a cold day.
