WOMAC patrons
and committee shared a great St Valentine’s gift for 2004 – another
great party.
Tickets, donations and money taken on the night add up to £20,000 at
time of writing (Feb 2004), with more donations still pouring in. That means
that we are on target to help St Luke’s Hospice in Essex to replace its
out-of-date IT equipment, and to sponsor two Marie Curie nurses caring for
cancer sufferers in their own homes. As a tribute to our friend and fellow
committee member Lynda Sheridan-Shewan, who died last year, the nurses will
be based in the Surrey area.
By popular demand, this year’s event returned to the UnderGlobe beneath
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on the South Bank. Almost 400 people attended,
and the atmosphere, food and drink have received plenty of praise from guests.
The WOMAC committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all those
patrons and helpers who came along and worked so hard to make everything run
smoothly.
We’d also like to thank our many friends, who came up with some amazing
prizes for the raffle and grand tombola, including two mountain bikes, tickets
to the Rugby Six Nations Championship and three Fortnum and Mason champagne
hampers. The tombola and raffle alone raised almost £5,000. See separate
story for winners and photos.
The superb consort of Viols provided suitable music, having been organised
by patron Alison Moran, who is now Head of Communications for West Dean College
near Chichester.
In a change to previous years, three stand-up comics provided
entertainment. Our MC for the night, Jo Enright, is well known
on the comedy circuit and starred in an episode of the popular
TV series ‘Phoenix Nights’. She was
joined by Kerry Godliman and Anna Kierle, both finalists in this year’s
Funny Women Comedy Awards, organised by WOMAC patron Lynne Parker (See www.funnywomen.com).
Unfortunately, the UnderGlobe bans any amplification apart from a small PA,
so the committee recognises that not everyone could hear the entertainment,
and this is something that will be discussed for future parties.
If you have any thoughts on the party – good or bad – or
if you have any suggestions for future venues or future charities
needing support, please let us know on our message board.
Don’t
forget Knowl Hill 2004
WOMAC will continue to raise funds all year, but our next large fund-raising
event will be at the Knowl Hill Steam Fair August 14-15, 2004. If anyone can
provide prizes or spare a couple of hours to help out on the day. Please let
Sue Loy know. (See link to story on last year’s event).
