Something a bit different on the blog today. It’s not a post written by myself, but by the wonderful Nichola Harrison and Stephen Dean. It’s also not on a topic that I would usually cover here, but it is a subject that is very close to home for a lot of people. Today, I’m posting about the Strawberry Tea Party I attended for Breast Cancer Care.
I’ll hand it over to Nichola:
After a few health scares of my own, and realising that not all women are as lucky as me, I was determined that I would keep the fight against breast cancer very much in the forefront of my mind and do something to help.
Some of that help manifested in the form of a Strawberry Tea Party held in my home on Sunday 5th July 2015. This was an idea given by the charity Breast Cancer Care and was very appealing as it was easy for anyone to get involved in. The plan was to contact all my friends and family, invite them to a Strawberry Tea Party and while filling their tummies full of yummy treats, they would fill the donation box with lots of money to help the charity. However, the Tea Party took on a life of its own when my partner, Stephen, and I started approaching businesses that included restaurants, bars, hair salons and supermarkets. These local businesses, even in these austere times, proved to be extremely generous. They provided us with donations that we could use as prizes in the form of ‘meals for two’ gift vouchers, shopping vouchers, bottles of bubbles and what every lady loves, hairdressing vouchers!
The people who attended the Tea Party were not business people themselves, but normal, hardworking or retired ladies and even a few teenagers, who arrived with pocket money in hand.
The afternoon proved to be a great success with 25 or so ladies squeezing into our lounge that had been bedecked with bunting, streamers and anything with a strawberry theme. There was lots of bubbles, bingo, buns and bras (oh yes, and tea!) We were also serenaded by my colleague Javed, and served by probably the best waiter in the world, Thomas. The fundraising bingo proved to be the highlight of the afternoon. It was both exciting and very competitive! Stephen and I took turns at bingo calling but we won’t be giving up our day job! All the ladies left after a wonderful afternoon, most with prizes in hand but all with a gift bag containing information on Breast Cancer Care, and the mandatory small bottle of bubbles and cupcake to enjoy at home. This was just a small token of thanks from Stephen and me for those who attended.
I am delighted to say that on the afternoon we raised the grand total of £654! I would like to give a massive thanks to everyone who donated on the day and a special mention to David Sutherland (on behalf of Sutherland Architects Ltd), Gerry White (on behalf of The John Hewitt), The Albany Bar/Restaurant, Benedicts of Belfast, Pearl Restaurant (Ballyholme), The Hudson Bar, Angus O’Neil (on behalf of Sainsburys) and the legend that is Bill Harris Hairdressing. Also a big shout out to our local celebrities Tara Mills and Mark Carruthers (BBC NI) for all their support along the way.
If you want to make a donation to Breast Cancer Care or find out more about what they do click here.
Many congratulations to Nichola and Stephen for raising so much money for Breast Cancer Care. It was a great afternoon’s entertainment even though I gatecrashed with Sarah, your Twitter buddy. Looking forward to next year’s charity fundraiser!
We were invited….. I think!