Pepper News - charity fundraising - caring for sick children, supporting families

Applicants can either already hold a license to save registering one for Pepper Events, or someone who is prepared to take on the responsibility for holding a license on behalf of the charity.

Either way, the request is now a very urgent one if we are to continue offering licensed bar facilities for all the popular Pepper Events fundraising events throughout the year.

If you are interested, please contact Karen Buchanan, Pepper Administrator, The Pepper Foundation, PO Box 334, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 1UC, or telephone 01442 874120, email karenbuchanan@btinternet.com.

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Sporting celebrities descend on Berkhamsted

Celeb Sport? – A new joint fundraising initiative between The Pepper Foundation and The Hospice of St Francis – proved to be a huge success recently attracting a capacity audience. Styled in the format of the BBC’s popular TV programme A Question of Sport, Phil Tufnell, ex-Middlesex and England cricketer and winner of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and Luther Blissett, ex-Watford and England footballer, were the team captains.

Pre show comedian Johnny Laff provided entertainment before both quiz teams were introduced to the audience. The ‘Pepper Shakers’ team featured Middlesex and ex-England cricketer David Nash, retired Premier League football referee Graham Poll, England International and Wasps rugby player James Haskell and Captain Luther Blissett.

The ‘St Francis Puffers’ team featured Watford player/coach Malky Mackay, BBC Radio London rugby reporter & commentator Sara Orchard and ex-Arsenal and England footballer Nigel Winterburn and Captain Phil Tuffnell.

Nigel Barden, the popular BBC Radio 2 food and wine critic and Radio 5 Live rugby commentator was quizmaster, MC and auctioneer extraordinaire with his usual style, panache and enthusiasm.

Sue Rodwell and her team from Rodwells Drinks Specialists in Tring kindly ran the bar both before the event and during the interval. Sue provided medal-winning wines for the event as well as soft drinks and bottled water.

Thanks to Sting the Wasp (from Wasps RFC) and Harry the Hornet (from Watford FC) for coming along to confuse our celebrities, meet the audience and act as our wonderful mystery guests in ‘Feel the Sportsperson’.

An exciting auction of sporting memorabilia, which included some fantastic items raised a magnificent £2885 with additional items in a separate silent auction adding to the total.
We were particularly delighted that the Mayor of Dacorum, Councilor Brian Ayling and his wife, Pat, were able to attend the event as our guests. The evening grossed nearly £6000, so we are looking at a donation to each charity in excess of £3000 – enough to fund nursing care for a sick child at home for 6 months.

We still have a number of fabulous autographed photos of our celebrity panel, which were taken especially for us on the night, which we would like to sell to help boost the funds raised at the event.

If anyone would like to make a bid for a signed photo of our sports stars – Phil, Malky, Nigel, Sara or Luther, David, Graham & James – please contact karenbuchanan@btinternet.com for further details.

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Pepper @ The Gatsby II

The second ‘Pepper at The Gatsby’ evening was held on Tuesday 28 August. 66 diners enjoyed the sophisticated surroundings and enjoyed and evening of good food and music at this popular venue in the heart of Berkhamsted.

Once again Nick Pembroke his team at the Gatsby looked after everyone well and the music from Adrian, Archie and Mike – aka ‘Toad’ - was much appreciated by all.

Over £1200 was raised for Pepper thanks to the contribution from The Gatsby and a successful raffle. There will be another ‘Pepper at The Gatsby’ event in January so visit the ‘Events’ section our website www.pepper.org.uk for details.

Pepper would like to thank Nick Potts and Nick Pembroke for collaborating superbly and organising another fantastic night for Pepper supporters.

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Karen Buchanan conquers The ITEX Walk for Pepper

On Saturday 9 June 2007, Pepper Administrator Karen Buchanan with friends and family entered a most demanding charity walk around the complete coastline of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, almost 40 miles in a day, and all in aid of Pepper.

Having arrived in Guernsey on the Friday morning spending a leisurely day on the beach in glorious sunshine, it was early to bed that night, as they had to be up at 3.30am in order to be at St. Peter Port to register to start by 4.30am. Their 5.10am departure took place in extremely foggy conditions, which wasn’t a very encouraging start.

According to Karen, the southeast and south of the island were extremely uncivilised in terms of walking! To say there were steep cliff climbs is putting it mildly. The fog got denser and heavier and the inclines got steeper. There was just a never ending route of stone steps cut into the cliff paths - it was endless and it was very, very difficult to keep motivated because of the sheer hard work involved in putting one foot in front of the other as some of the steps were a good foot or more high.

It took them 6 hours to cover the 16 miles section of the cliff paths and at one point they were a good 250 feet above sea level. Karen knew it was high when the seagulls were circling on thermals beneath us!

Karen commented it was a shame the walkers were not able to appreciate the stunning scenery along the cliffs because of the fog, but from a walking point of view it was good that it wasn't so sunny as they were sweating buckets in the fog and drizzle!

The west and north of the island apparently was a doddle after the cliff walks and the beaches and the scenery which were really beautiful.

They had about 7 checkpoints that they had to reach at designated times, which they managed and made time up on the flat which was very encouraging and some 14.5 hours after they started, they arrived back in St Peter Port at 7.45 pm.

Its not surprising they ached everywhere, bones, joints, muscles, not to mention sunburned noses, arms and ankles, but more importantly, having survived the journey on bananas, orange juice, water, crisps, energy bars, good humour, a bit of yelling and sheer bloody mindedness, they managed to raise an impressive £1146.54 for Pepper.

Would they do it again – Karen says “No way”! Is she chuffed she did it this time – “You bet” – and so say all of us at Pepper! A huge thank you Karen and well done.

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Soroptomist International Club raise funds for Pepper

Soroptomist International Club raise funds for Pepper

Soroptimist International, who work to promote social justice and equity and the empowerment of women through economic independence and greater participation in decision making at all levels, held two events this year where they raised funds for Pepper.

Soroptomists are committed to providing humanitarian services to local, national and International communities. As part of their fundraising commitment, they generously supported Pepper by promoting us at the Cherry Fayre in Flackwell Heath in July 2007 and during their Club summer lunch at Audry Symes’s house. Audrey kindly supplied the lunch and all the Club members reimbursed her the cost, from which she donated the amount of £160 to Pepper.

Diane Steele, President of the Soroptomists, held an ‘un-birthday’ dinner in June where she spent the whole day cooking a meal for her guests, the result of which was a donation to Pepper of a further £500 which is a great effort, thank you.

The Soroptomists now plan to hold a quiz night on October 20th in Flackwell Heath in the Community Centre at 7.30 pm and have invited Friends of Pepper to take a table. Cost per person is £12.50, which includes a fish & chips supper and a dessert.

If you would like to take part, please register your interest to Karen Buchanan.

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Soroptomist stall holders - left to right
Jeanette Muncey, Kathleen Martin,
Diane Steele - President
and Patricia Kerbellec,
promoting the Pepper Foundation.

Audrey Symes, left, with friends at the Soroptomist club summer lunch.

Zoe Conradi enters her first charity run for Pepper

A team of 10 runners ran the British 10k Marathon in London recently consisting of nine who ran for IRHH and the tenth, Zoe Conradi who ran for The Pepper Foundation.

According to Zoe, her run went extremely well as she managed to finish the course in 1 hour 16 minutes, which was just over the target she had set herself which in any event was a personal achievement having had no idea how long it would have taken due to it being her first race.

She has already approached her work to see if they will contribute towards the money she raised which could increase her £845 by a further £500!

The British 10k is the first charity run Zoe had entered and her first fundraising event for Pepper. She had a fantastic day and felt the most enormous sense of achievement when she crossed the finishing line, not only for completing the race, but also to think that the money she had raised will go to such a worthwhile charity.

She couldn't have done it without the support of her friends, family and colleagues, and for that she thanks them all as we likewise extend our thanks to her for putting in so much time and effort into raising an impressive amount for Pepper.

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Tring Corinthians Celebrity Football Day Out for Pepper

Ross Parrett of Tring Corinthians recently organised a family day out at Tring Athletic Football stadium featuring a celebrity game between the Corinthians and a Luther Blissett Celebrity team. Apart from Luther, many other league and international football stars played, including Paul Jones who played in goal for Wales for many years.

There were also ‘Beat the goalie’ and ‘Hit the crossbar’ competitions, as well as junior competitions – and even the sun shone!

The Pepper team consisting of Moira and Roy Massingale, Julie Parrish, Mary Kennedy and Jonathan Tweed, ran the Tombola and sold Pepper Piglets, show merchandise, and Roy’s special drink competition. Together more than £200 was raised and the word was spread further about the charity, in spite of Julie being stung by a wasp as we set up the stalls!

Thank you to Ross and the Corinthians for their help and support.

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Chelsea FC supporting Pepper this Season

In previous copies of Pepper News, we reported how we are working more closely with families of the children who are supported by the Pepper nurses, so they can be aware of future plans and events and encourage their family and friends to get involved.

It was as a direct consequence of this that the Shed@thePark team appeared in the marquee on the middle Sunday of this year’s Summer Show.

Another outcome was a lead to Chelsea FC, that they may support us for one of their match day charity raffles. We wrote to Chelsea and were delighted to have received confirmation that they will support us this season with one of the raffles.

We simply need to send sashes and brochures and they will confirm the date. Our Chairman Jonathan Tweed has offered to wear a sash in his swimsuit, but Chelsea reluctantly declined suggesting they use their own staff!

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Amersham Townswomen’s Guild

Pepper is the chosen charity for Amersham Townswomen’s Guild for their current year. One of the events organised by the Guild was a “Strawberries and Cream” garden party held on the 21 July 2007.

The garden looked beautiful and was admired by a number of guests as they sheltered from a heavy downpour in the gazebo. However, Lady Galahad immediately came to the rescue with a selection of umbrellas enabling everyone to return to the house and sample the wonderful selection of cakes and goodies on offer. It was a spread to be proud of.

The afternoon raised an impressive £250 towards their Pepper fund.

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New Litter of Pepper Piglets looking for a Home

There are many types of pigs. Some pigs, like warthogs and boars, are wild pigs. Domestic pig breeds include Hampshire, Gloucester and Large Whites. Some pigs, like Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, are kept as pets.

The Pepper piglet is particularly fond of spending time with people, especially children and he loves music, fun and laughter.

In the wild, pigs root up grasses, roots and insects with their strong noses. Most farmers feed their pigs grain mixtures.

Our piglet requires nothing other than good company with a special friend and the opportunity to sing her favourite Sgt. Pepper song ‘Lucy in the Sty with Diamonds!’

The piglets are available to a good home for £7.99. Call 01442 874120 or 0845 6755566 for more details, but remember:

Pepper Pig don’t like disco
Pepper Pig don’t like dance
Pepper Pig don’t like ambient
Pepper Pig don’t like trance

Pepper Pig don’t like R&B
Pepper Pig don’t like soul
Pepper Pig just likes heavy duty bad-***
Rock ‘N’ Roll

(With Apologies to Edward Monkton)

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Pepper Christmas Cards

This year Pepper has a special and exclusive Christmas card in addition to its normal range - an original scene of Berkhamsted, painted for us by local artist George Sear.

The card is selling at £4.75 for a pack of ten cards, available from the Pepper Foundation

A more comprehensive range of cards plus an order form will be shown on the website next month as well as a special order leaflet that will be sent out to all the Friends and Associates of Pepper.

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Coffee, Cakes and Quilts Shines in the Rain

In spite of the very wet weather on Friday 20th July, a very successful ‘Coffee, Cakes and Quilts’ morning took place at Tring Red Cross’ Hall, which raised £230 for Pepper in only 2 hours!

Maggie Tweed and her students had a lovely range of wall hangings, quilts and throws on display which were greatly admired by all the visitors. The homemade cakes and raffle added to the success of the event.

Thanks to all who supported the show and to all those whose hard work made it such a successful event. Watch this space for next year’s event! Anyone interested in joining a class should contact Maggie Tweed – maggietweed@yahoo.co.uk.

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The Blue and White Quilt made by
Gill Ostler

From left to right, Nicky Criddle,
Julie Cade, Jenny Clabon, and Jude Ball enjoying the coffee and cakes.

Pepper receives a brilliant surprise from Canada

Pepper Administration Manager, Karen Buchanan, recently received a call from Robin Harris in Ontario, Canada on behalf of his mother. Apparently some relatives – and aunt and uncle - who gave respite accommodation to children of airmen based on an American airbase near their home in the fifties and sixties, had left his mother their house on the understanding that a donation of $20000 Canadian would be made to a children’s charity as close as possible to the Iver area. They always enjoyed trying to help children having been childless themselves.

When Robin and his wife were recently on holiday in the UK, they trawled the internet, found Pepper and phoned Karen. Information was subsequently sent to Canada and following several exchanges of information, a £10,000 donation was made.

The Pepper Foundation and the children we support send an enormous thank you to the Harris family in Canada for their enormous donation.

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Eastwoods Golf Day

Wednesday 8 August 2007 saw the 10th Anniversary of the Eastwoods Pepper Golf Day take place at Ashridge Golf Club where 23 teams (92 players) set out for a shot gun start after bacon butties & coffee and complimentary massages from Christina from
Avida Massage.

The players couldn’t have wished more for such fantastic weather conditions, the course was in tremendous condition and a good day of golf was enjoyed by everyone.
Stratsones of Tring sponsored a Hole In One Competition for a BMW car but sadly the cries of ‘We were only a whisper away from the hole’ meant that no one actually won the car.

The after dinner activities, attended by football celebrities Luther Blisset and Nigel Winterburn were hosted by events organiser Janet Edwards and celebrity auctioneer Nigel Barden. In fact, on the day alone, £15,995 was raised with a final figure yet to be announced anticipated to be in excess of £18,000.

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1 Joe Collier presents the winning
Lady Golf Trophy to Sue Taylor
as Janet Edwards looks on.

2 Spot the piglet!
Jonathan Tweed, Chairman of the
Pepper Foundation, manned the
Pepper stall throughout the day.

3 Spectacular view of Ashridge
Golf Course, weather and course conditions couldn’t have been better

Cienté Hair Salon to raffle the world’s most expensive shampoo and Conditioner for Pepper.

Cienté, the award winning hair salon in Berkhamsted, is raffling a limited edition gift set that includes a shampoo and conditioner with a retail price of £245.00 for the Pepper Foundation.

Cienté salon manager Trisha Buller says “Good health is something we take for granted and sadly, some children are not so fortunate and can suffer from traumatic life-limiting and in some cases, terminal illness’s. Pepper relies on the generosity of people like you to make a difference”.

The Prize, a gift set which includes a shampoo and conditioner and a bottle of VOSS Artesian Water, is just one of 75 sets coming into the UK. Cienté have secured one of those sets.

The limited edition shampoo and conditioner called TEN VOSS, has been made by the luxury Beverly Hills-based hair-care brand Alterna, using VOSS Artesian water from Norway and ten of the world’s conditioning ingredients such as extracts of Italian white truffle oil, caviar and Arabian Frankincense.

Alterna, whose A list celebrity fans include Victoria Beckham, Reese Witherspoon and Jessica Alba, are making a donation of $25,000 from the worldwide sales of this limited edition gift set to WaterAid.

For details of how to enter this competition, telephone Cienté on 01442 877273.

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That Pepper Effect Is 'The Best Pepper Show Yet'

That Pepper Effect opened on Saturday 14 July for seven performances at Berkhamsted Collegiate School’s Centenary Theatre and was declared to be ‘The best Pepper Show yet’ by regular show attendees on its opening night.

The second show to be written and directed by Paul Eccentric took up the story of the winner of last year’s Pepper Factor as he struggled to come to terms with the realities of his newfound fame and fortune. Surrounded by people who all wanted a slice of his success and who stopped at nothing to get it, Jack (now restyled JJ Flash), realised there was no way out of the new life he had chosen – or was there?

Great music is, as always at the heart of the two hour show and audiences enjoyed performances which ranged from
Jumping Jack Flash through Sex ‘n’ Drugs ‘n’ Rock & Roll,
Just A Gigolo and The Long & Winding Road to Shine and
I Put A Spell On You.

A cast of musicians and actors backed by a rock ensemble and Big Band Jazz 3000 performed the music and children from Pepper Youth made a strong contribution to the show.

That Pepper Effect is Berkhamsted’s biggest and best live musical extravaganza featuring music performed by local performers, rock musicians, Big Band Jazz 3000 and children from Pepper Youth. State-of-the-art lighting, sparkling sound and an amazing stage set combine to provide a musical night out to remember.

Comments from people who attended the show included –

‘I thought the show was highly creative and superbly produced to appeal to a wide age range because of the selection of songs’

‘Highlights were the blending of rock and big band with the revolving stage to enable quick changes. There was pace, polish and variety which provided a great showcase
for a lot of individual talent’

‘I thought this year’s show reached an amazingly high standard. The singing was superb, music excellent, lighting and stage design spectacular and sound perfect’

‘Pepper Youth excelled themselves again'

The annual Pepper Show is organised entirely by volunteers to raise funds for the Pepper Children’s Nursing Team that cares for local children with terminal and life-limiting illnesses. The amount of money raised has now been announced as in excess of £30,000.

In the meantime, next year’s performance will celebrate our 20th anniversary of the summer show, therefore you can expect an extravaganza of impressive proportions to reflect on the journey made by hundreds of volunteers over those twenty years who made the show the success it is today. The amount of money raised over that period far exceeds £1m, which represents a huge effort by so many.

Let us make sure 2008 is a year to remember!

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St George would have been proud!

Our inaugural St. George's Day Pepper Ball held at Pendley Manor in Tring, Hertfordshire, was a huge success. In fact we were lucky to be joined by St. George himself in the guise of a full size mannequin, complete with sword and armour and he even brought along his dragon - but we won't go into that!

As people gathered in the bar area for pre drinks, The Second Impulse Sax Quartet entertained everyone as they arrived and set the mood for an enjoyable evening.

Dinner was grand affair as everyone dressed up in his or her evening finery sat down to an excellent three-course banquet and when coffee was served a very professional cabaret performed by the pupils of the Arts Education School took to the stage.

Pepper is always in the front line when it comes to recognising young talent as has been proved over the years through the Pepper Youth summer show auditions, so it was good to see girls under 18 with such musical talent.

The auction that followed created quite a lot of interest as guests bid high and generously for a wide range of items brilliantly orchestrated by Amersham Auctioneer, Simon Knowles.

During the evening there was an opportunity to win a prize on the tombola table and to round off the evening everyone took to the floor to dance to Mr. Kites Benefit Band, who as always were absolutely excellent.

All in all a good time was had by all but Pepper could not have done it without the help and generosity of so many volunteers who were too many to mention all by name but we would like to make an exception, namely Ken Lennon our MC for the evening and Maureen Lennon who organised the event with Linda Horsfall.

Until all the receipts come in from the auction and various quarters, we do not have a final figure to present, but suffice to say we hope to have made in excess of £8,500!

Congratulations everyone involved, a great team effort.

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Pepper at the Gatsby

One of the most challenging aspects of fundraising is the constant need to come up with a new idea that people will enjoy whilst raising funds for the charity. We experienced a huge success with the Pepper St George's Day Ball which in itself was a lavish money raising evening, but what is there for a normal weekday evening.

Well, Nick Potts and his colleagues from the Berkhamsted and Bulbourne Rotary Clubs had the answer by organising a special evening recently at the Gatsby Bar and Restaurant, situated beneath the Rex Cinema in Berkhamsted High Street.

Nick Pembroke of the Gatsby, staged a delightful evening, which attracted a capacity number of covers, who clearly appreciated the quality of their food, which despite numbers, was exceptionally good.

As the conversations and laughter filled the room, so did the background music from musicians Toad, who delighted the appreciative audience with their variety of numbers befitting a piano bar ambience.

Each guest was encouraged to write their name on a £10 note, which was then placed in a draw resulting in three lucky winners each receiving prizes, but the moral of the exercise was to raise even more funds for the evening over and above the £10 per head per cover donated by The Gatsby.

We do not have final figures yet for the amount raised, but suffice to say it could be in the region of £2000 for Pepper.

Congratulations to The Gatsby and to Nick Potts for organising such a fun and successful evening which clearly demonstrates that we can put the 'fun' into fundraising on most occasions.

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Eastwoods Celebrity Cookery Demonstration

Cookery celebrities and aficionados descended on Berkhamsted en mass for a feast of the senses on Saturday 21 April at the Collegiate School as guests of Eastwoods Joe Collier who needs no encouragement to support Pepper as it comes naturally.

Jimmy Doherty, from the popular BBC2 TV series Jimmy's Farm, joined Joe and his colleagues David and Lee from Eastwoods Butchers in Gravel Path, Berkhamsted, for an evening of carving, cooking and conversation.

Paul Kelly, of Kelly Bronze Turkey fame, accompanied Jimmy, together with professional chefs Lisa Patton and Douglas Brunen, Berkhamsted cake maker extraordinaire Caroline Youngs and award winning sausage maker Keith Mulford, who was assisted by Chris Legg.

Nigel Barden, the BBC Radio 2 food and wine critic, hosted the evening along with David Lidgate of the highly acclaimed Lidgate Butchers of London. Nigel and David did a fantastic job in keeping the evening buoyed up with lively conversation and humour as they talked to the chefs and experts throughout the evening.

Rodwell's of Tring held an informative wine tasting to accompany the pork dishes cooked in front of the audience to tantalize their taste buds and an auction - with Nigel showing considerable skill as auctioneer - raised over £1500.

Thank you Joe for your tireless support.

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Bonkers Brash strikes again!

Stalwart Pepper supporter and mad keen cyclist, Richard (Bonkers) Brash and his team mates Richard Meeson, Dave Roberts and Mike Farrie, took up the challenge to cycle from the north coast of Wales to the south coast of Wales, across the mountains, in 4 days.

Incredibly Richard and his mates completed this marathon cycle journey in April 2007 and so far have received pledges for over £1000 worth of sponsorship and all for Pepper!

We don't think you are mad Richard - just Bonkers! Well done.

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Epson (UK), Hemel Hempstead support Pepper

Franki Knowles from Epson in Hemel Hempstead approached Pepper in April 2007 to ask for information about the charity as we were being considered as a contender for their charity of the year 2007.

Information was sent immediately explaining the work of the charity and we are delighted to let you know that Lesley Fyson contacted Pepper again in May to announce that Epson had chosen Pepper as their 2007 Charity of the Year.

Members of staff have already held a staff sale to fundraise on our behalf and Epson have kindly agreed to match all funds raised by staff. To date, after only a few weeks fundraising, £2588 has been donated to Pepper.

The Trustees and the nurses and more importantly the children, thank Epson for their generosity and decision to choose us as their Charity of the year.

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Ian Wing wings it!

Pepper supporter Ian Wing decided to leap out of a plane and participate in a parachute jump to celebrate his 40th birthday recently. Ian, who lives in Hemel Hempstead, had been to the Pepper summer show in the past and wanted to do something to support the work of the charity.

Ian also has a lively 5 year old daughter who has already said she'd like to be part of Pepper Youth in future shows!

Ian, who wasn't a bit nervous about his tandem leap in the sky, found the experience thoroughly exhilarating - so much so that he is now considering doing a solo freefall jump in future.

Ian raised an impressive £1555 in sponsorship, all of which he donated to Pepper.

An extremely impressive performance Ian - Thank you from the Pepper Team.

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Keeping it in the family

Jonathan Tweed's daughter in law Eli (right), together with her sister Amelia, recently ran the Reading half Marathon in aid of Pepper. To date, they have managed to raise £250 confirmed with the possibility of more to come once she returns from a trip to New Zealand and which is an excellent achievement.

She told Jonathan she found it quite a tough run and finished in 2:00:03 compared with her sister Amelia, who recorded a staggering 1:45:48 - her best time ever!

Congratulations to both of them for making the effort on behalf of all the Pepper sick children.

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MG Owners Club nominate Pepper

The Wycombe Area MG Owners Club has nominated Pepper as their charity for this year. Pepper Trustee, Val Bevan and her husband Dave, recently attended a Club evening during which time they made a Pepper presentation to the Club members.

They received a very warm welcome, some good questions and a great deal of interest which resulted in Club making the decision to support the work we do for sick children with life limiting illness, in their area.

We look forward to working with the Club.

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Raffle Drawn for Pepper

The high spot of a very successful 20th Anniversary Exhibition for Berkhamsted Quilters came on the afternoon of Sunday 22nd April when Jonathan Tweed, Chairman of The Pepper Foundation, arrived to draw the winning ticket for the Quilt Raffle, Tantalising Triangles, which had been made by members of the group over a period of about 9 months.

The winner, Sandra Smith from Maple Cross, bought her ticket when the quilt was displayed at the Pepper Shop in Amersham. The raffle raised a wonderful £1759 and a further £406 was raised from other activities over the weekend, totalling £2165!

A big thank you to all who bought tickets and congratulations to the lucky winner.

Additionally, Jonathan awarded the winning prize in the quilting group's African Challenge competition. The picture shows the winner Hannelore Kettle receiving her award.

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Sky Sports journalist supports Pepper

Miles Harrison, who has been with Sky Sports since 1994 and also previews live Guinness Premiership, Heineken Cup and international rugby on skysports.com, was recently named the Guinness/London Irish, Rugby Union Journalist of the Season.

The award was established four years ago to recognise the journalist or broadcaster that has contributed most during the season to the understanding, promotion and enjoyment of rugby union.

It is the only such award to be presented annually.

Harrison was commended by the judges for his great contribution to the game, not only in his commentaries but also through his writing, receiving special praise for the thoroughness of his research.

Harrison also picked up a signed London Irish shirt, which he donated to his favourite charity, the Pepper Foundation.

"I intend to auction the signed shirt for a local charity that I have supported for a number of years now," he said.

"They do wonderful work and the generosity of London Irish will be much appreciated by all those involved with the charity."

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Miles Harrison

Waitrose support Pepper during their Charity Week

Waitrose supermarket in Berkhamsted chose Pepper as the recipients of funds raised during their annual charity week, held in February 2007. The partners of the Berkhamsted store voted to support local charities that offer help to children and young people and Pepper, along with another Berkhamsted charitable organisation, were the nominated recipients.

Among the activities that took place were a staff Chinese lunch, a football match between Dry Goods and Fresh Foods - with Fresh Foods winning the day! Bets were placed on who would score the first goal and the winning scorer was Matt Gibson.

Checkouts held a quiz night and there was an auction for departmental managers to be nominated to change jobs for a day!

A total of £285.35 was raised and the donation cheque was presented to Pepper Trustee Linda Horsfall and Administrator Karen Buchanan in April.

Our grateful thanks to all those partners at Waitrose who took part.

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Spread The News

One of the biggest issues Pepper faces in terms of fundraising is to try and raise awareness of the Charity and the work it does in supporting sick children and funding the Pepper Nursing service beyond the local Berkhamsted, Tring, Hemel Hempstead, Chesham and Amersham area.

We get great support from these areas and the majority of our fundraising is focussed here, but many of the children we support are in High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Marlow etc, and very few people in those towns know about us. I am sure if they did, they would be pleased to provide support.

To spread the Pepper word more broadly, we have launched a number of initiatives in the hope of engaging the families and friends of children the nurses have cared for or are caring for, in activities that they feel comfortable with to support the Charity. We have also broadened the area of last year's highly successful Pepperthon initiative encouraging children to help children by mailing every school throughout Herts and Bucks instead of limiting support to the confines of Dacorum.

We are initiating contact with companies in the High Wycombe area as a pilot to raise awareness and look for ways the companies can help, from major sponsorship (of a nurse for example) to supporting literature production. As a minimum we are looking to leave new Pepper collecting boxes to encourage every day support.

We are also contacting the newspapers throughout the region to explain our dilemma that the essential and highly valued delivery of care for sick children in their town is going unnoticed and unsupported in many areas. We hope to produce editorial support as a consequence. We are contacting all organisations throughout the region who have an ethos supporting children's charities with money or activities, such as Golf Clubs, Round Tables, Lions, Chambers of Commerce, Townswomen's Guilds etc. We have already had some success, but our resources limit our activity.

This is where you come in!!

Please support these initiatives in any way you can, through your work, sports club, gym, choir, model makers, friends. A few words about the charity may spark some ideas in new areas, and these ideas will become a hotspot for new fundraising. The early feedback from the initiatives is good - now we need action!

Jonathan Tweed
Chairman, The Pepper Foundation

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Jonathan Tweed
Chairman, The Pepper Foundation

Celebrities Endorse Pepperthon 2007 for Schools!

Luther Blissett and Antony Worrall Thompson have agreed to support the Pepper Foundation's schools fundraising event - Pepperthon 2007! The former Watford and England footballer that now manages Chesham United, and the Celebrity Chef, are keen to make this fundraising initiative a resounding success.

Following a successful launch in 2006, backed by the incumbent Mayor of Dacorum, Councilor Jane Hogg and targeting schools in the Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted area, over £5000 was raised. More than 400 schools in Herts and Bucks are now being invited to participate in next years exciting challenge.

This expansion means that more schoolchildren will be able to raise money to fund the Pepper Nurses, who care for children within the community suffering from life limiting illness on a 24-hour, 7 days a week, 365 days a year basis, The Pepper nursing service is currently caring for more than 30 children within the Hemel Hempstead to High Wycombe, Aylesbury and Marlow catchment areas.

To coincide with National Children's Hospice Week, held in September 2006, Luther and Antony endorsed a letter sent to all schools encouraging them to participate by enabling children to help children who are less fortunate than themselves.

To join the fun, each child raises sponsorship from friends and family to achieve a specific activity target. This can be skipping or swimming, hopping or running and this year it could even be making a specific number of healthy snacks and selling them to their friends!

So not only are the children raising money for a great local cause, but they are also getting exercise and encouraging healthy eating which is why Luther Blissett and Antony Worrall Thompson are keen to support the Pepperthon 07 challenge.

Full details will be sent to participating schools in early 2007 so they can enter and take part in March 2007. Every child will receive a certificate signed by Luther and Antony, and the fundraiser achieving the most challenging target in each school will receive two tickets to the matinee of the famous Pepper annual summer show in Berkhamsted - and who knows who else may be there?

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Luther Blissett

Anthony Worrall Thompson

Pepper at the Opera

Pepper Opera goers were once again treated to a spectacular evening of good music and frivolity during a recent performance of the Garden Opera Company's performance of Cosi fan Tuti.

At one stage the audience was in hysterics, caused by the performers who took advantage of the mood and certain misfortunes where they openly showed their amusement, much to the delight of the opera goers who rose to the occasion by applauding their approval.

It would seem the garden Opera Company could do no wrong and as previous years have demonstrated, their kind of production and humour is appreciated by established and novice audiences alike.

Mike Jenkyns' desire to bring Opera to the masses has worked yet again with so many young members of the audience showing their approval during the curtain call. This year was no exception to his promise to bring popular Opera to Berkhamsted and for 2008, well watch this space when we announce the next dates.

As usual, the special themed cocktails and in-house catering arrangements were exceptional, not to mention the applause given to Dr Pricilla Chadwick for her tireless support of Pepper by donating the Collegiate Theatre free of charge again.

Our thanks also go out to all those who supported the event to make this one of the must see annual calendar dates in the Berkhamsted events diary.

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Runners brave heavy rain in the 2007 Half Marathon and Fun Run

The Berkhamsted Half Marathon and 5 mile Fun Run broke all attendance records this year despite the continuous heavy rain and cold weather conditions which didn't appear to deter the runners in either category.

Athletes from all over the country took part in the Half Marathon including and entrant from Venezuela and Japan making this years' event, organised by Nick Potts of The Berkhamsted Rotary Club, one of the most popular events in the athletic calendar.

First of the 943 Half Marathon runners to finish the 13.1 mile event was 40 year old Anthony Jackson from Shaftsbury Barnet Running Club who completed the course in a time of 1:13.07.

Paul Allen, the local Dacorum and Tring Athletics Club runner, finished in ninth place with a time of 1:18.41.

Team results for the Half Marathon saw victory go to Chiltern Harriers, while Tring Running Club came fifth and Gade Valley Harriers finished eighth.

The winner of the 5 mile Fun Run was Tommy Sheldrick aged 17 of Berkhamsted Collegiate School who beat runners from Watford and Thame with a time of 0:28.57.

15 year old Jack Thai from Ashlyns School in Berkhamsted finished fifth with a time of 0:30.35 culminating in Ashlyns School achieving the top spot with Berkhamsted Collegiate coming second.

The popularity of this even has soared in recent years due to national and international coverage on specialist websites. In 2006, the number of entrants doubled from the previous year to 850 with this years' total increasing to 943.

The Half Marathon and 5 mile Fun Run are organised by both Berkhamsted Rotary Clubs to raise money for Pepper which last year amounted to £12,000 with a possibility that despite the continuous heavy rain and atrocious weather conditions, that figure may be substantially exceeded.

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Hertfordshire Business Awards

The atmosphere was electric during the 2006 Hertfordshire Business Awards, held at Willows Farm near London Colney, St Albans on Thursday 23rd November 2006. The stage was set and an array of distinguished guests from around the County dressed in their finest evening attire ready to be entertained in a most magnificent and opulent way.

Consequently, The Pepper Foundation were delighted to have been invited to attend the awards evening as the HBA's nominated charity for the event, which was a great honour for us.

The theme for the evening was 'Rock the Kasbah!' where guests on arrival, entered a vibrant, bustling atmosphere of a traditional Moroccan Souk.

Popular comedian and impersonator, Jon Culshaw compered the ceremony providing laughs all the way as he worked his way through a selection of celebrity impersonations prior to announcing each of the award winners.

Pepper Trustees Eric Pillinger and Lewis Fletcher, were both invited to sit at the same table as Jon Culshaw who provided non-stop laughter making for a thoroughly enjoyable aside to the Awards ceremony itself.

The event organisers, Caroline Hyde and Carol Gray, from Archant, Herts & Cambs introduced the work of the Pepper Foundation to an influential and sympathetic audience and explained how crucial fundraising is to the charity to ensure it can carry on it's work of supporting the Pepper paediatric nursing team, supported by the Pepper PowerPoint presentation.

The business supporters attending the Awards ceremony were clearly moved by the presentation in terms of how the Pepper nursing team help children within the Herts & Bucks area, because between all the tables, they raised over £2700 throughout the evening for the charity.

The Trustees and the Nursing Team would like to thank all those who made extremely generous donations throughout the evening in the knowledge that the money will go to such a worthwhile cause.

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John Culshaw

Foresters Charity Year generates £4000 for Pepper Nurses

The local High Wycombe Branch of the Foresters (Elm Grove) held their 2006 Christmas Dinner and Dance at the Wycombe Abbey School during which time they presented a cheque for £4000 to a thrilled Liz Clarke, Fundraising Coordinator for the Pepper Foundation.

This donation was in addition to Foresters generous £1000 sponsorship of the Bank Holiday fete held in August last year.

Liz thanked the Foresters and explained what a difference their huge fundraising achievement will make to children in the High Wycombe and Buckinghamshire area.

Over 190 people attended the event and spent the evening dancing to the excellent Legacy Big Band. The dance floor was packed throughout the evening with a display to rival the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final being televised on BBC the same evening!

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Sylvia Claydon (left) of Foresters presenting a cheque to a thrilled Liz Clarke during a break in the evening festivities.

Berkhamsted Quilters - Tantalizing Triangles

Berkhamsted Quilters are a group who have helped their local community over the past twenty years by supporting many local initiatives and national charities with numerous fundraising projects. The group will be celebrating their twentieth birthday with an exhibition to be held on 21-22 April from 10am until 5pm at the Civic Centre, Berkhamsted High Street, Berkhamsted HP4 3HB.

In this, their eighth exhibition, they will be showing many quilts, both individual and group made. In addition the group have collaborated to make a raffle quilt, Tantalizing Triangles, a most stunning double bed size quilt. The inspiration for this beautiful work came from a quilt made by Katherine Guerrier.

The quilt is made from jewel coloured fabrics, many donated by the members, machine pieced and machine quilted and measures 84" X 100". This will be raffled in aid of the The Pepper Foundation, a charity which exists to alleviate suffering by funding home care to seriously ill children within the Chilterns area of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

The draw for this beautiful textile will take place on Sunday 22 April. Tickets cost £1 each and are available from Gillian Wyborn, Lilac Cottage, Wigginton, Herts HP23 6HN. Cheques should be made payable to Berkhamsted Quilters and marked Raffle Quilt on the reverse and please include a stamped self addressed envelope.

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Tantalizing Triangles Quilt

The Mane Event of the year!

A fabulous night was in store for those who were lucky enough to have tickets for The Mane Event of the Year - hair and fashion extravaganza, which was organized and presented by the Ciente hair salon on behalf of Pepper on Friday 10 November 2006.

The evening started with drinks and canapes in the reception area of the Civic Centre in Berkhamsted where ticket holders were able to browse a variety of stalls selling some unusual and exciting gifts.

The show commenced by visually transporting the audience by means of huge photographic backdrops accompanied by music and special lighting effects, through London, Paris and New York, to demonstrate hair styles, make up and fashion presented by models specially chosen by the Ciente stylists and creative team.

The highlight of the evening was the finale event - 'The Ball' where the audience were once again transported to the chic sophistication of a winter's ball with dazzling hair styling, make up and corresponding evening attire worn with great panache by the models.

After the scintillating presentation, Trisha Buller - on behalf of the team from Ciente - thanked everyone for attending and reminded them how the money donated to the event could really help maintain the funding Pepper so desperately needs to continue its vital children's nursing service.

With the fundraising theme uppermost in everyone's minds, the audience went home with complimentary goodie bags handed out on departure.

Over 100 people attended the evening and such was the success of the show, Ciente have promised to put something similar on in future.

Pepper would like to thank Trisha and her team for working so hard to put on such a spectacular evening - thank you Trisha, Karen, Becky, Charlotte and everyone involved from Ciente.

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A donation cheque totaling £1273.08 is presented to Linda Horsfall and Karen Buchanan of The Pepper Foundation from Sam Makepeace, Karen Scantlebury, Serafina Woodward, Becky Walton, Joe Wielgomas, Hayley Welling, Joel Lai and Trisha Buller of the Ciente Hair Salon.

The Pepper Shop in Amersham

Have you visited The Pepper shop in Sycamore Road, New Amersham yet where you will find a fantastic selection of reasonably priced items for sale? You will also be supporting Pepper at the same time, if you do.

You can donate any good quality clothing, bric a brac, books, CDs, videos and DVDs. We particularly welcome children's clothing as well such as toys, books, musical instruments, games, clothes and furniture. Who knows, you might even find just the bargain you have been looking for as well.

The Pepper shop welcomes donations of good quality items to sell all the year round, but please do not deposit them outside or round the back of the shop when closed as items are often stolen or vandalised. We prefer, whenever possible, that donations are brought in on days other than Monday.

Being a shop volunteer can be a great way to make new friends whilst doing something useful at the same time. If you can spare a little time on a regular basis, then please respond to the following appeal for Volunteer Shop Assistants.

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The Amersham Pepper shop is currently looking for new volunteers who can normally work shifts of 3-4 hours, any morning or afternoon. If you can spare just a few hours to help, please contact Janice Hawkins, Pepper shop manager, on 01494 725932 or just pop in for a chat

Record funds raised at Eastwoods Pepper Golf Day

Joe Collier, award winning businessman and patron of the Pepper Foundation, together with Janet Edwards and her team of enthusiastic organisers, certainly know how to make the most out of a day's pro-celebrity golfing event.

Joe's company, Eastwoods Butchers in Berkhamsted, managed to raise a staggering £12,574.61 on the 9th August as a result of the Eastwoods Pepper Golf Day, held for the second year running on the 6580 yard par 72, Ashridge Golf Club in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.

The Ashridge course is described as being encouraging to the average golfer, whilst thought provoking for the above average player, which is possibly why this established annual event attracts so many entrants from all over the country.

This year, the ninth in the series, well over 100 people attended the event, split between the 24 teams comprising four players per team in the competition and those who also attended the gala fund-raising dinner afterwards.

Luther Blisset, ex Watford and England footballer together with Nigel Winterburn, ex Arsenal, did an excellent job running the auction which included holidays in Spain and Turkey, a signed England rugby shirt, John Motson's story board from a World Cup 2006 game, a Tiger Moth experience and a Spa day at Champneys.

Jonathan Tweed, Chairman of the Pepper Foundation, presented a brief speech on the Charity and the work it does for children with life limiting illness and paid particular praise to the tireless work John and Pauline Lamb had given over the past 8 years in running and building such an important fundraising event, accompanied by Janet Edwards who, together with her team has subsequently taken over the helm since they both retired from the event in 2005.

This year will be the 10^th Anniversary of the event which promises to be even more exciting as Vinny Jones has already offered to take the winning Auction bidder out fishing, shooting or playing golf! Make a note in your diary for Wednesday 8th August 2007 prior to application details being released very soon.

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Picture shows (left to right) Jonathan Tweed - Chairman of the Pepper Foundation, Joe Collier, Janet Edwards, Luther Blisset and Liz Clarke - Pepper Fundraising Co-ordinator, holding aloft just two of the impressive prizes on offer.

Hadrian's Wall walkers endure July heatwave

David Williams and his daughter Sara, had been talking about walking Hadrian's Wall for quite some time, so eventually, one sunny day in July 2006, all the talking became a reality as they set off on their challenging 84 mile walk.

Both Sara and David were accompanied on their journey by Mrs Sally Williams, who provided essential and vital back-up support services - namely someone to pick them up at the end of each day and take them to each night's accommodation!

Hadrian's Wall, now officially recognised as a World Heritage Site, stretches across the country from Wallsend in Newcastle on the East coast of the UK to Bowness-on-Solway on the West coast.

The Romans occupied Britain from the middle of the 1st Century to the beginning of the 5th Century and for much of that time, Northumberland was the very edge of their mighty empire. It was in AD 122 that the Emperor Hadrian, ordered the building of a wall across the country to separate the land of the Britons from the Picts.

As July is historically regarded as the middle of the British summer, both walkers thought they might at least experience reasonable weather and pleasant walking conditions throughout their journey, with maybe little rain. However, they were certainly not prepared for the heat wave conditions they had to endure each day throughout their walk. As it turned out, July was registered as the hottest month since records began!

7 days later and many wonderful sights experienced along the way, their path took them to the village of Glasson where they stopped for lunch, happy in the knowledge that they were only 3 miles from the end of their journey. Feeling spurred on by this they set off at a fine pace to Port Carlisle and then on to the town of Bowness - what a wonderful sight that must have been before arrived at their destination.

A small wooden archway with a message across it congratulating them on having finished Hadrian's Wall provided an opportunity for them to have their photographs taken, but more importantly, there was a bench for them to sit down and reflect on their achievement.

The sight of a nearby pub where they received their sixth and final stamp in their Hadrian's Wall passport accompanied by a certificate, must have been like finding an oasis of water in a blistering desert, which in effect, the previous 6 days had been like. Despite occasional but uncontrollable muscle spasms and only one blister each, which was nothing a hot bath wouldn't cure, they came out reasonably unscathed.

And it was not only for their own satisfaction and sense of achievement they undertook this challenge - they did all that and raised £2300.25 for Pepper.

Our thanks go out to David, Sara and Sally and all those sponsors who enabled them to raise such an impressive amount for the charity.

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The highest point

Only a few more crags to go

We made it to the end

The Pepper Factor wows our audiences

Last year's annual Pepper Summer Show presentation, entitled the Pepper Factor, a combination of the popular television shows 'Pop Idol', 'The X Factor' and 'Stars in their eyes', was a huge success and one that even Simon Cowell would have been proud of!

Eight decades of musical history was given the Pepper Factor treatment during one of the hottest weeks of the year in July. The Pepper Factor cast, adult and youth, crew and a relentless army of volunteers, battled through the rising temperatures to ensure the audiences were given a musical experience they would never forget.

Audiences were singing and dancing in the aisles as each performance progressed, followed by enthusiastic applause that would relegate London's West End theatres into the second division. This year also saw a departure from previous performances through the introduction of a big band sound, which was hugely popular with the mixed age audience.

Of course, this was Pepper fundraising at its best, so the enthusiasm of the Pepper supporters spilled out into all pre and post show events centering around the marquee where local bands donated their time free of charge to entertain.

As has become the norm, the restaurant facility was hugely popular because the standard of food was absolutely excellent and the volunteer staff that ran the bar, did it with such professionalism and enthusiasm, it was difficult getting people to leave when the time came to lock up!

One of the great talking points about the Pepper show, apart from the excellence of the more experienced musicians and singers, is the opportunity it provides for up and coming youngsters via Pepper Youth. Many kids from local schools enter the spirit of the show with such enthusiasm and commitment alongside their academic work. It is a great testimony to them and to their parents who actively encourage them.

Pepper Youth provides an opportunity for kids to express themselves and become part of a wider entertainment picture, which could possibly lead on to them 'treading the boards' professionally.

The whole ethos of Pepper is to provide 24-hour home care to children who are affected by serious illness. By taking part in the show, the enthusiasm and commitment by Pepper Youth members given to the charity, clearly demonstrates their desire to provide for children less fortunate than themselves, which is a great character and team building exercise. That was clearly demonstrated at one of the performances attended by Sian, one of the Pepper patients, whose composure and kindness shown to us throughout the evening, confirmed why we do what we do.

This year will be the 19th Pepper Summer Show and work has already begun deciding a theme and format, so watch this space or visit the pepper show website www.peppershow.com around the beginning of February 2007 for future announcements.

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Bonkers is back!

Mad cyclist Richard Brash is on the road again to raise money for Pepper. Affectionally known as Bonkers for reasons quite obvious, Richard now plans to cycle with three fellow cyclists, from the North Coast of Wales to the South Coast over the challenging mountain passes.

In 2005, Richard, accompanied by his wife Penny who followed at a distance in her car to make sure nothing untoward happened to him on his long and arduous journey, cycled from John O'Groats to Lands End and raised over £1500 for Pepper.

If you would like to sponsor him for this next coast to coast marathon log onto the special Just Giving website http://www.justgiving.com/bonkersbrash3

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Amersham Townswomen's Guild

Please support the Amersham Townswomen's Guild who plan to run a stall at the market in Amersham-on-the-Hill on Tuesday 29 May from 9:00am till 1:00pm. They will be selling home made cakes, plants and bric-a-brac.

The Townswomen's Guild have adopted Pepper as their charity for this year and are planning to promote Pepper during this event.

This is an ideal opportunity of spreading the Pepper word into the neighboring county.

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Whiteleaf Golf Club Ladies - par excellence

Jonathan Tweed, Chairman of the Pepper Foundation together with Liz Clarke, Pepper Fundraising Coordinator, recently attended a ladies lunch at the Whiteleaf Golf Club, after which, following a brief presentation about the charity to the group, Ladies Captain, Jane Rigby-Fielder, presented Pepper with a cheque for £250.

This follows a previous amount raised, which they presented to Pepper in May 2006 following the club's Charity Day, which amounted to a staggering £2850. The additional £250 was raised from donations in lieu of Christmas cards and a raffle.

Sadly the weather on Ladies Day, restricted the golf competition to just 6 holes before rain eventually forced play to be abandoned.

The Trustees and Nurses of the Pepper Foundation are very grateful to Jane for choosing to support Pepper as her charity during her year as Captain and to all Club members for their generosity in helping raise the spectacular combined total of £3100.

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Jonathon Tweed, Chairman of the Pepper Foundation with Ladies Captain, Jane Rigby-Fielder

Better Prospects for Pepper

The Better Prospects Recruitment Agency, with branches in Amersham and Luton, chose to support Pepper during December with a Christmas campaign targeting all its clients.

The Amersham branch manager, Jo O'Reilly (centre), presented Val Bevan (right), Pepper Trustee and Liz Clarke (left), Pepper Fundraising Coordinator, with a cheque for £150 together with a wonderful array of gifts donated by staff and clients including soft toys, wine and a hamper.

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Liz Clarke (left), Amersham branch manager Jo O'Reilly (centre), Pepper Trustee Val Bevan (right)

Pepper's High Flyer

You could be forgiven in thinking that Pepper's High Flyer refers to our Illustrious Chairman Jonathan Tweed, but not on this occasion.

That honour for the time being, rests with Pepper supporter James Doughty who for quite some time, had wanted to do something not many people could say they had done, so naturally he decided to jump out of an aeroplane and skydive with a friend - as you do.

It meant having to rise at 5.00am and leave home at 6.00am so he could arrive at the airstrip for 9.00am to undergo a training session which included how to fall out of the plane without looking too silly and how to land softly without ending up splattered on the ground!

As they were doing a tandem jump, the actual training only lasted 5 minutes after which they were assigned the 19th and 20th jump slot of the day, which eventually became a long drawn out tortuous event.

Eventually, when it was James's turn to board the plane, it was only then he realised it was too late to back out. The aircraft door was closed behind them when the ground was only three feet away and when it was reopened the ground was considerably further down, like 12,000ft!

James and his friend moved intrepidly to the door and just fell out into space. After the initial shock to the system, they went into the freefall, which he says was absolutely amazing... but very cold. The chute opened after about a minute of freefall bringing them slowly back to earth.

All in all it was an amazing experience for James and his friend, which he has no reservations recommending to anyone hankering after a bit of excitement in their lives. However, James's reason for undertaking such an experience was not just self-gratification, as he raised £100 for Pepper at the same time through sponsorship.

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James Doughty

Hyde Heath Villagers support Pepper

The village of Hyde Heath in the central triangle of Chesham, Chesham Bois and Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire is one of those traditional communities that continues to grow in strength through the generosity of its inhabitants.

One such resident is a lady called Sylvia Brown who, in addition to manning the Pepper Shop in Amersham two days a week, is also an active member of the villages fundraising and WI volunteer community.

One day in December last year, Sylvia and Irma Dolphin, the village historian, held a coffee morning in aid of Pepper and managed to raise a magnificent £350 for the Pepper Foundation.

Everyone at Pepper would like to thank the villagers of Hyde heath for their continued generosity in helping support Pepper and the work we do for children.

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Irma Dolphin and Sylvia Brown enjoy a coffee for Pepper

The 2006 Beaujolais Champagne Challenge

For the second year running representatives of Pepper joined teams from five other hospice charities to head for France and the annual Beaujolais Champagne Challenge.

Val and Dave Bevan were our members of a happy squad which picked up supplies of Beaujolais Nouveau and other quality wines and champagnes while competing for the BP Castrol trophy, awarded to the team which recorded the shortest mileage between Beaujolais and Champagne via an evilly-placed checkpoint, roughly en route!

All the participating charities had been pre-selling wine and champagne to supporters over the last few months to raise funds and, in the case of Pepper, it was our second year of organising such an event through the sale of wine as a result of popular wine-tasting events.

Last year, John and Daphne Watts won the Novice section of the Challenge on behalf of Pepper and, although Dave and Val were not one of the first teams back to the finish their mileage was creditably low and Pepper have retained the Novice award - don't question the detailed performance data, please!

You may see from the pictures that Val and Dave drove a car bedecked with Pepper stickers, one of which blew away somewhere in Burgundy, so the Pepper name has been spread yet more widely.

The Wine Evenings have added to Peppers' fundraising these last two years, and we are grateful to the Ian Rennie Hospice at Home staff who, as experienced participants in the Programme, have assisted in getting this off the ground.

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Val & Dave, plus Pepper branded Landrover

Feeling "On top of the World" (in Beaujolais)

Pepper Wine-tasting events

As part of the BP Beaujolais - Champagne Challenge 2006 reported by Val and Dave Bevan separately on this website, several groups of individual fundraisers throughout the year, staged a series of wine-tasting events to promote wine sales mainly for the benefit of Pepper but also to promote the charity in an enjoyable sociable way. Entrants taking part in the Challenge collected all the wines from France to bring back to the UK for distribution to all those who had made purchases through the wine-tasting events.

One such social event, hosted by Nicola and Richard Leats at their house in Tring, was such a great success; it raised well over £900 during the evening. John and Daphne Watts did a great job facilitating the tasting and sales to 17 guests and Jonathan Tweed, Chairman of the Pepper Foundation presented a brief introduction about the charity before handing over to John to commence the tasting.

Daphne said Jonathan and John's double act was as smooth as Ant and Dec but with more class! Oh yes!!!

Pepper would like to thank all those who took part in the wine-tasting events who offered their homes as venues and provided snacks and hospitality for the benefit of helping us to raise funds.

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Nicola and Richard Leats raise their glasses to a successful evening

George & Dragon continue their support

Following the retirement of Pepper supporters and publicans Bill and Carol Dyer of the George & Dragon Public House, Northchurch, in 2005, Mick Owens, the new publican has generously continued supporting Pepper much to the grateful thanks of the Foundation.

So much so that to mark his first anniversary as publican at The George & Dragon, Mick presented Pepper with a cheque for £500 raised during a Bandits gig at the pub during the summer.

In the picture are Jonathan Tweed (centre), Chairman of the Pepper Foundation together with Mick Owens, George & Dragon (right) and Jim Tree-Booker (left) one of the Bandits and an avid Pepper musical stalwart.

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Jim Tree-Booker, Jonathon Tweed and Mick Owens

Maidenhead Static Model Club donate £1000 to Pepper

On the 16 May 2006, Jonathan Tweed, Chairman of the Pepper Foundation, was delighted to attend a meeting of the Maidenhead Static Model Club to receive a cheque for £1000, which was the culmination of a fundraising initiative by the members, the proceeds all going to Pepper.

The Club, comprising specialist collectors of die cast metal and plastic models, attracts in excess of 50 members from all over the South East of England who meet on a regular basis to display their impressive selection of models.

Robert Breakwell from Iain Rennie Hospice at Home (IRHH) had previously been invited to speak to members of the Club following an approach back in August 2005 as they were keen to support a children's charity.

Following the cheque presentation, Jonathan Tweed, summed up with a brief speech, where he gave a huge vote of thanks to John Ward and Barbara Simpson, not to mention all the members of the Maidenhead Static Model Club, for raising such an impressive amount for the charity.

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From left to right, John Ward - Chairman and Publicity Officer, Jonathan Tweed and Barbara Simpson - Club Archivist/Librarian.

Mayor's Walk Presentation

Last year over 80 people, not to mention several dogs, participated in the Mayor of Dacorum's Country Walk, organised by the Hemel Hempstead Lions who were raising funds for Pepper as the Mayor's official charity and other charities nominated by the walkers.

Former Mayor of Dacorum, Councilor Jane Hogg (right) and Councilor Mrs Catherine Appleby, present Mayor of Dacorum (left) are seen receiving a cheque for £1240 from Lion Eric Bright (centre) representing Pepper's share of the total raised.

Jenny Barrett, the Mayor's secretary, members of the Hemel Hempstead Lions Club and representatives from Pepper and other organisations who helped out on the day were recently invited to a buffet reception held at the Mayors Parlour as a special thank you for all their efforts in making the event another success in the Mayor's fundraising calendar of events.

On behalf of Pepper, we would like to thank the Hemel Hempstead Lions for their very generous contribution.

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Riverside Event Supports Children's Charity

Riverside Femme, the exclusive Club for Hemel Hempstead women, chose to support the Pepper Foundation at the club's second meeting on the 13 September 2006, when members met Hertfordshire author Sophie King.

Riverside, the new retail complex, attached to the old Marlowes shopping centre, is officially supporting the Pepper Foundation for all Riverside Femme club meetings, in addition to other activities and events throughout the year.

The Riverside shopping centre's association with the Pepper Foundation began at the Riverside Femme launch, which took place in April 2006. The event was opened by the then Mayor of Dacorum, Councilor Jane Hogg, who had chosen to support the Pepper Foundation throughout her year in office, in memory of her nephew, who died of a brain tumor.

After an inspirational introduction by local journalist Abena Bailey, editor of Herts Lifestyle magazine, Sophie King, author of Mums @ Home, treated Riverside Femme members to an interesting and humorous presentation.

Drawing from her own experiences as a working mother of three, Sophie entertained club members with a charming account of the difficulties of trying to 'juggle it all' and the importance of keeping time for oneself.

Tom Watkins, Marketing Manager at Riverside, who was delighted to be supporting the Pepper Foundation said, "We hold a wide variety of popular events here at Riverside including Riverside Femme, so we're only too happy to use them to raise funds for such a worthy cause".

Liz Clarke, Pepper Fundraising Coordinator, said, "We are all thrilled that Riverside has chosen to adopt Pepper to help raise the charity profile as well as encouraging vital donations"

Riverside Femme is a free club open to women focusing on style and lifestyle issues, and invites members to take advantage of exclusive offers, sampling opportunities and social events. Women can sign up to join Riverside Femme by either picking up a registration form at the centre, or by visiting the Riverside website www.riversidehemel.com, or calling Lorna at Toolbox Marketing on 01359 250208.

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Riverside Femme, the exclusive club for Hemel Hempstead women, gave members the chance to meet Sophie King, author of Mums @ Home at their second event of the year at Waterstone's Riverside.

Record amount raised from Pepper Half Marathon & Fun Run

This years Pepper Half Marathon and Fun Run, organised by the Rotary Clubs of Berkhamsted & Bulbourne, not only enjoyed record entrants in its 2005 fundraising event, but also record funds.

Pepper Trustee - Dennis Fairey, is pictured receiving a cheque for over £11,000 on behalf of the charity from outgoing Berkhamsted Rotary Chairman Nick Potts, during a dinner and presentation held at the historic Court House alongside St Peter's Church in Berkhamsted High Street.

Over 1100 entrants from all over the country took part as a result of the Pepper web site and other media groups, who provided immediate access for runners to enter on-line, many of whom acknowledged the Berkhamsted course as one of the best and most challenging Half Marathon courses in the country.

The Pepper Foundation are delighted to hear that the Berkhamsted Rotary Clubs have announced their intention to continue supporting the Charity for a further three years which will help enormously to provide the funding we desperately need to continue our essential service to communities in the Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire area.

Further information concerning entry forms for next year's event will be announced on the website and in Pepper News later in the year, but in the meantime, start planning your training routine and make a note in your diary now for Sunday 4 March 2007.

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Coffee, Cake and Quilts

Maggie Tweed, the creative wife of Pepper Chairman Jonathan Tweed, together with some of her students, raised an impressive £272.37 in 90 minutes recently as a result of a coffee, cakes and quilts open morning at the Red Cross Hall in Tring, Hertfordshire. The hall was absolutely buzzing with activity - so much so that there was hardly a space left to enjoy the coffee and cakes!

The idea behind this particular Pepper fundraising initiative was to give Maggie's quilting students a chance to show off their work and meet some of their former classmates for a chat and an opportunity to raise funds for Pepper.

Visitors were so impressed and inspired by the variety and quality of work so beautifully displayed that they couldn't wait to join the next quilting class.

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Fundraising from the Heart

What do you think induces individuals to commit themselves to fundraising extremes, which puts the majority of us to shame? It's a difficult question to answer, but not for one of our Pepper supporters whom you might have seen carrying out volunteer security duties on the gate during the Pepper Summer Show this year.

This coming November, a very special person will celebrate their 40^th birthday. Not a big deal you might think although a good excuse to hold a party for one of those 'big' birthdays with a zero in it!

Well, three years ago Gina Green had meningitis and a stroke and rather than have a big party to celebrate her birthday, she decided to spend the whole of 2006 fundraising for Pepper, along with other selected charities close to her heart.

As if that wasn't enough of a commitment, she also decided to donate all the money she would have spent on a party entertaining her family, relatives and friends by giving it to a useful cause.

So far Gina has completed a 5K fun run for Race for Life, a 60-mile bike ride from London to Brighton for the British Heart Foundation and recently took part in the demanding Three Peaks Challenge, climbing Ben Nevis, Mount Snowdon and Scaffell Pike, within 24 hours, which she entered for Pepper.

She has yet to collect her sponsor money for that so cannot tell us how much she has actually raised but all will be revealed once all sponsorship monies are received.

Gina is now training for the Amsterdam Marathon in October for Pepper, although she may have to defer to the Scandinavian Marathon in November as she was given the opportunity of taking a well-earned holiday in Greece for two weeks, which has come at the wrong time for marathon training. Either way she will run a marathon this year and donate all her sponsorship money to Pepper.

So from one extreme to another, there seems to be no stopping Gina in her quest to help others - what a commitment and what a lady!

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The Pepper Art Fair 2006

Following the success of last year's inaugural event, the Pepper Art Fair returned to the Beulah Chapel in Berkhamsted as part of the charity's summer fundraising initiative which ran concurrently with the annual Summer Show The Pepper Factor, at the nearby Collegiate School.

Curated by Lyndy Moles and Stephanie Dubois, the Pepper Art Fair provided a showcase of exciting contemporary art from local artists, who shared the proceeds from each sale with the charity.

This year's event was considered a huge success judging by the positive comments written in the visitors' book, which attracted art lovers from all over the Home Counties as well as one artist from Anglesey who happened to be passing the door so decided to take a look.

The event raised a staggering £885.00 for Pepper, so our thanks go to all the artists who took part in the exhibition who very generously donated funds from the sale of their artworks.

Lyndy and Stephanie are now faced with what can only be described as a positive problem for next year should the Pepper Art Fair continue to attract more artists in terms of whether to source a larger gallery!

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Fun at the Bank Holiday Fete

On Sunday 27th August, huge crowds joined in the fun at the IRHH/Pepper bank holiday fete as a result of the exceptional weather. The fete, organised by long time Pepper supporter Martin Crowhurst, was even more successful than last year and generated receipts of over £2500 for The Pepper Foundation.

We were also fortunate to receive generous sponsorship this year from Foresters Elm Grove Branch who, in addition to their contribution, also ran a coconut shy during the event.

The Mayor of Dacorum, Councilor Catherine Appleby, officially opened the show. Gentle Jazz entertained visitors with two, hour-long sessions of excellent music. In the arena The Blue Angel Majorettes performed a number of routines featuring girls of all age groups. The Delta Dog Display Team gave varied demonstrations including an agility display and was followed by K9 Games completing the fun dog show with competitors participating in musical mats and the fastest sausage eating competition.

Frosty the cow, escorted by Jonathan Tweed, Chairman of The Pepper Foundation, duly chose the winner of the bovine bingo competition.

Winners in the Fun Dog Show were as follows:

Happiest Dog - Alfie, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, entered by Natalie Webb
Most Handsome Dog - Max, a German Shepherd owned by Mrs Hubbard
Prettiest Bitch - Pepper, a Basset Hound owned by Lydia Judge
Best Veteran - Holly, a Labrador, aged 14, owned by Kay Ayres
Best Rescue Dog - Biscuit, a Collie with Len d'Silva
Dog the Judge would most like to take home - Paige, a Rottweiler entered by Arron Coates
Fastest Sausage Eater - Charlie, run by Tom Clarke
Musical Mats Winner - Glen, a Rough Collie with owner Max Day

Our thanks to all those volunteers who took part in the organisation of the event and to those who took part. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year in what the long range weather forecasters predict as being even hotter than this year - phew!

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Sponsor: Foresters

The Pepper Stand

Delta Dog Display Team

Gully Mouse

Jonathon Tweed (left)

Line Up for the Fastest Sausage Eater

Praise for Pepper Praise

A packed congregation of worshippers representing the association of Berkhamsted Churches Together, were treated to a spectacular evening of praise and worship recently during the annual Pepper Praise Sunday service in the Centenary Hall, Berkhamsted Collegiate School.

During the ten years the event has been presented, using the stage and set on the middle Sunday of the show dates, there have been some amazing guest performers from the London Community Gospel Choir to famous footballers who each had a testimony to share.

This year was no exception as guest speaker and actor Eric Petrossian had the audience spellbound during his hour long presentation entitled 'O Kingdom Come, the Life of Christ'.

The whole performance was absolutely riveting as he acted out every stage of the journey of Jesus, from birth to resurrection, quoting word for word, extracts from the Bible, completely from memory while acting out all the characters himself. It is no wonder he has received rave reviews from the media, all over the country.

From a stand up comedian who won the Channel Four Comedian of the Year Award in 2005 and one who has played alongside Ricky Gervais in several TV sitcoms, his portrayal of the Life of Christ was a refreshing departure in both mood and tempo.

Throughout the service, music was lead by Matt Eykle accompanied by musicians from Northchurch Baptist Church who had worshippers singing at the tops of their voices and dancing in the aisles.

Pepper Nursing Team Leader, Sonya O'Leary, presented on stage, an emotional overview of the work Pepper provides for the community during a one to one interview by The Reverend Billy Milton, which resulted in a great response by the congregation when it came to the collection. Over £1000 was raised during the evening which is a testimony to the service the charity provides.

In many ways, Pepper Praise is wrongly considered by non-believers to be just for practicing Christians' who regularly go to Church, but not so as it is open for all those who love to sing, be entertained whilst receiving spiritual blessings for doing so.

Next year will be a difficult act to follow, but make a note on your forward planner that the middle Sunday during the 2007 summer show might be the time you could be spiritually uplifted.

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Eric Petrossian
Photography by Paul Lunnon

2 Matt Eykle leading the NBC worship team
Photography by Paul Lunnon

Mayor of Dacorum's Secretary acknowledged

Dacorum Mayor's take up their official term in office and after their tenure, often relinquish their duties to make way for a new democratically elected replacement. But the Mayor's Secretary usually remains in the outer office come rain or shine, to advise and guide the incoming Mayor around the corridors of power as well as the Mayor's Parlour.

Often considered to be a Mayor without the burden of office, the Mayor's Secretary is the essential office facilitator who enables the current Mayor to fulfil his or her official duties.

Jane Hogg, the outgoing Mayor of Dacorum who chose Pepper as her charity of the year during her term in office between 2005/2006, relied on her secretary Jenny Barrett to organise her daily duties and engagements, many of which included Pepper related initiatives. Consequently, as a gesture of good will and appreciation, Jonathan Tweed, Chairman of the Pepper Foundation, recently presented her with a small gift in the form of a framed Sgt Pepper Lonely Hearts Club montage, in token of Pepper's gratitude for all the work and advice she gave the trustees on behalf of the Mayor.

Whilst Pepper is not the present Mayor's official charity, the Trustees of the Pepper Foundation would like to express their gratitude to both Jane and Jenny for remaining good friends of Pepper.

With a little help from our friends, the charity received in excess of £40,000 during the course of Jane Hogg's 12 months in office.

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Jonathan Tweed, Chairman of the Pepper Foundation, presents Jenny with a small gift in the form of a framed Sgt Pepper Lonely Hearts Club montage

St George's Day Pepper Ball

Pepper is pleased to announce the introduction of a new event in the Pepper calendar which it is hoped, will provide a glittering fundraising opportunity for all those who like good food, dressing up, dancing and great music.

St Georges Day is often overlooked during social calendars, apart from the large London hotel venues'. Therefore imagine the scene - Pendley Manor set amidst a vast country estate, Black Tie, Mr Kite's Benefit Band and a celebrity auction offering a vast array of attractive prizes.

Mark the date in your 2007 forward planner diary now - 28 April 2007. Ticket prices and further details will be announced once the arrangements have all been finalised.

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Pendley Manor

Mr Kite's Benefit Band

Pepper thank Jane Hogg, outgoing Mayor of Dacorum

During her term in office, The Mayor of Dacorum, Councillor Jane Hogg, who chose Pepper as her official charity, raised over £35,000 in the space of one year, which is a remarkable achievement. Not only that, but she actively took part in all of her fundraising initiatives personally, commencing with her very first skydiving event when she first took office.

This is a remarkable achievement and by way of thanking Jane for all the hard work and support she actively promoted and initiated for Pepper as Mayor of Dacorum, the Trustees, of the Pepper Foundation, represented by Jonathan Tweed - Chairman and Dennis Fairey, together with Karen Buchanan - Pepper Administrator, presented her with a personal gift as a mark of appreciation.

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Pictured either side of Jane during an informal presentation at Costa Coffee in Berkhamsted, are Trustees Dennis Fairey (left) and Jonathan Tweed (right).

Pepper Chrysalis Workshop

One of the essential activities undertaken by the Pepper Family Support Services Manager, is for them to run an innovative annual bereavement workshop called Chrysalis, where children, who have suffered the loss of a parent, brother, sister or grandparent, are provided with an opportunity to express themselves, release emotions and are helped to understand the sadness and pain they feel.

Such an event took place recently over a two-day period at the JFK School in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. There were 14 children who attended, some accompanied by family members, who had been directly affected by the death of a loved one in the recent past.

The two-day workshop consisted of a series of fun games and interactive sessions, designed to help them understand and come to terms with the pain of the loss and the feelings they have, and that they were not alone in that all the children in the group were each going through the same challenges.

The sessions were facilitated both by the Pepper Paediatric Nursing Team and other paediatric specialists whose function it was to give a child the means to understand and express themselves in a way only they could understand through play therapy. How was it received - the attached pictures speak for themselves.

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Whiteleaf Charity Golf Day

Mayday was Charity Day at Whiteleaf Golf Club, near Princes Risborough, which generated record charity donations. One hundred and four golfers participated, most of whom stayed dry with the exception of the first teams to tee off who experienced a rather damp start.

The golf was followed by a superb rolling buffet supper, accompanied by a raffle, auction, and prize-giving ceremony. There were several interesting auction lots on offer including an attractive reproduction chair, a bed that could be single or double according to needs and of course the customary cuddly toy!

Participants were very generous both in their auction bids and raffle support and a massive total of £5,500 was raised by the end of the day, which was split equally between two charities chosen respectively by the Ladies and Men's Captains.

Ladies Captain, Jane Rigby-Fielder, chose Pepper as her charity of the year and Liz Clarke, Pepper Fundraising Coordinator, was delighted to speak about the work of the children's nursing team and receive a cheque for £2,750.

The Wooden Spoon, Mark William's chosen charity also received £2,750 from the event.

Pepper would like to say a big thank you to all involved at the Whiteleaf Golf Club for making such a generous contribution towards the work carried out by our nursing team.

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Joe Collier acknowledges Pepper Nurses

Joe Collier and his staff at Eastwoods Butchers of Gravel Path in Berkhamsted have reasonable cause to celebrate as a result of them being named ‘Business of the Year’, awarded by the Berkhamsted Chamber of Commerce.

Pepper patron Joe Collier and his team are no strangers to winning awards but what makes this award significantly different is that the £500 accompanying prize, presented by the BDCC and Lloyds Bank, he is donating to the Pepper Foundation for the Pepper nurses to have a well-deserved night out.

Ron Cowie, Chairman of the Berkhamsted & District Chamber of Commerce (BDCC), explained that this particular award is presented to a business that makes a significant contribution to the town over the past twelve months.

Eastwoods primarily won the award because of their quality and standard of service supported by the tireless work Joe Collier does for local charities including Pepper.

Joe commented that he was extremely pleased to receive such an award from the BDCC, which recognises the efforts made by his own team, but as a strong supporter and patron of The Pepper Foundation, he acknowledges the fact that the Pepper nurses also do a very special job, therefore he particularly wanted to present them with his cheque for £500 to be spent for their own well-being in recognition of the tireless work they do on 24/7 basis within the community.

On behalf of all the Pepper team and in particular the nurses, we would like to thank Joe for his kindness and generosity.

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Joe Collier of Eastwoods Butchers displays his ‘Business of the Year’ certificate awarded to him by the Berkhamsted & District Chamber of Commerce accompanied by guests (left to right)
David Gauke MP, Jonathan Tweed Chairman - Pepper Foundation,
Jennie Buchan -Pepper Nursing Leader and Richard Crook - Lloyds Bank

Mayor’s Country Walk in the pink

On Sunday 9th April, over 80 people, not to mention several dogs, participated in the Mayor of Dacorum’s Country Walk, organised by the Hemel Hempstead Lions who were raising funds for Pepper as the Mayor’s official charity, plus other charities that could be nominated by each participant.

Pepper will receive 40 percent of the donations once they are collected, plus a possible further 40 percent by nomination. The remaining 10 percent raised will go to the Lions for a specific charity designated by them.

The Blue Angels Majorettes put on an impressive display outside the Civic Centre before the walk commenced despite a cold wind blowing after which The Mayor of Dacorum, Councillor Jane Hogg, thanked them for braving the weather before starting the walkers on their way.

The 8 mile route of the walk commenced at the Civic Centre, and took in parts of Hemel Hempstead, Potten End, Picotts End and Winkwell starting out across Gadebridge Park, heading off into the countryside and returning along the canal towpath from the Three Horseshoes pub into the top end of the town by the old Kodak Tower.

Each participant was presented with a special certificate on completion of the course, to prove to their sponsors that they had successfully completed the course, so all that remains now is for them to collect the pledged donations, complete with gift aid boxes ticked where applicable.

Pepper and all the walkers would like to thank all the marshals along the route, who provided encouragement and liquid sustenance at specific checkpoints. It was also very encouraging to see motorists slowing down in the narrow lanes as a result of all the ‘Beware of Walkers’ signs erected by the Lions team supported by uniformed Army cadets.

Each walker was encouraged to wear ‘Pink for Pepper’, the best-dressed walker wearing a lion costume and a pink tutu who somehow appears to have avoided having his picture taken!

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Maggie Tweed and Karen Buchanan set the pace after the first half-mile through Gadebridge Park.

An early finish for five successful walkers, lead by Kate Marston (centre), showing off their well-earned certificates.

A cross-section of the Blue Angels Majorettes who braved the cold to stage an impressive display at the start of the walk.

The successful Pepper Group who was among the first entrants to return pictured with their certificates.

Celebrity Cooks entertain a full house

TV personality and celebrity Chef, Clarissa Dickson-Wright together with local Chefs and award winning butchers Eastwoods, recently presented, courtesy of the Berkhamsted Collegiate School, a highly successful celebrity cookery demonstration, which attracted a capacity audience of 500 people in the Centenary Theatre, Kings Road Campus, Berkhamsted.

Food lovers and budding chefs were entertained by one of the highly acclaimed TV stars in the successful ‘Two Fat Ladies’ series, together with a local chef and skilled butchers who demonstrated how various cuts of meat should be carved and then prepared into mouth watering recipes.

Latin American chef, Aida, also demonstrated her speciality dishes and Paul Kelly cooked and carved one of his special Kelly Bronze Turkeys, whilst simultaneously hosting a turkey gobbling competition! Eastwoods' Alan Bennett involved members of the audience in a very amusing sausage stuffing demonstration whilst Joe Collier demonstrated how to cut and prepare meat.

The event was organised by Joe Collier, Pepper Patron and award-winning local butcher from Eastwoods to raise funds for both Pepper and the Hospice of St Francis in a joint fundraising initiative.

A silent auction featured numerous prizes donated by both local businesses and celebrities including actor and self-made entrepreneur David Jason - Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses whose original Trotters Independent Traders three wheel Robin Reliant as used in the hugely successful TV series, was loaned for the evening - ‘mange tout’.

Pepper would like to thank Joe, Clarissa, Aida, Paul Kelly, MC David Lidgate and Dr Priscilla Chadwick of The Collegiate School and everyone else who so generously gave their time, expertise, sponsorship and prizes to make the event the success it was.

We are not yet in a position to say how much money was raised during the evening until the figures are made know, but we will post the total on the website as soon as it becomes available.

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Aida and Clarissa get down to business and entertain themselves whilst doing so..

Joe Collier from award-winning Eastwoods Butchers demonstrates his meat cutting skills in a trade that has earned him awards all round the country.

The evening presenters take questions from the audience

Elm Grove Foresters sponsor Pepper

Liz Clarke, Pepper Fundraising Coordinator, was delighted to receive a cheque for £1000 recently from David Hughes (President) and Sylvia Claydon (Charity Chairperson) of the Elm Grove Foresters.

The Foresters, an old friendly financial products society who now raise money for charities by fundraising at events throughout the year including race nights and dances, have chosen Pepper as their charity of the year. Pepper nurses care for terminally ill children in their own homes across the Chilterns area as well as providing support for other family members.

The £1000 donation represents sponsorship for the Bank holiday fete to be held at Gadebridge Park in Hemel Hempstead on Sunday 27th August. The fete will feature traditional arena entertainment, a fun dog show and other attractions including a climbing wall. See the ‘events’ page on this website for further details.

For more information about the Foresters, visit their website at www.forester.co.uk

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Record Entry for Pepper Half Marathon & Fun Run

Clear blue skies and a sunny but chilly morning saw over 1250 runners assemble in almost perfect conditions for the 24th Annual Berkhamsted Half Marathon & 5 mile Fun Run on Sunday 5th March. According to event organiser Nick Potts, this is a record. At one stage, the start represented one of the largest gatherings of people the town has ever seen.

Out of 1100 committed entrants, 850 runners completed the Half Marathon with the winner Andrew Reeves from Serpentine Running Club coming home in a time of 1:14:36. The first lady, Rachel Kenchington of Overton Harriers, achieved a time of 1:24:07. The Serpentine Running Club, who selected to use the event as their Club Championships, won the Team prize.

The field of runners in the 5 mile Fun Run was well spread out with many entrants dressed in colourful and innovative costumes including two youngsters who completed the entire distance as a three-legged race, and one who went round hopping on crutches. It was quite encouraging to see many young people taking part and making a real effort which impressively represented children helping children who are not able to take part in such activities because of serious illness.

Several teams collected cash in buckets along the way and despite some of the less seasoned runners finding the hilly course quite challenging, everyone entered into the spirit of the occasion.

Jack Parslow of West Herts College won the Fun Run in a time of 28:30 with Watford Harriers winning the team prize.

Cllr. Jane Hogg, Mayor of Dacorum, who supports Pepper as her charity of the year, very kindly presented the prizes.

The Rotary Club of Berkhamsted, organisers of the event, were delighted to see record numbers this year for what has become an established fundraising event particularly as many of the running clubs use the event as a training run for the London Marathon.

Entrants from all over the country took part thanks to direct links through the Pepper web site and other media channels enabling them to book on-line.

They will announce their intentions for next year after their post event meeting when they also find out the total of the amount raised. Watch this space for that announcement.

The organisers would also like to thank all the volunteers who marshalled the course and everyone back at base who helped with the logistics of staging such a huge event.

A great effort by one and all.

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A record number of starters

A sea of runners

The Fire Brigade runners

Animal Magic

The Aurora Duo entertain

The Mayor of Dacorum’s Harp & Flute Recital held on Friday 17 February, 2006, provided a musical treat for many Pepper music lovers, including the Mayor herself, Councillor Jane Hogg.

An audience of around eighty were treated to a delightful evening of music at the Hemel Hempstead Civic Centre, performed by talented musicians Dawn Miller on flute and Kate Smith on Harp, who played a selection from their wide-ranging repertoire encompassing both classical and contemporary pieces.

Both musicians introduced each piece of music with either a brief history of the composer or a personal anecdote, which provided additional interest for the audience.

The Aurora Duo raised in the region of £700 for Pepper, the Mayor of Dacorum’s chosen charity during this, her year in office. Needless to say, the Aurora Duo met with unreserved acclaim and received several enquiries about possible future bookings.

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The Mayor of Dacorum, Councillor Jane Hogg (centre) with musicians Dawn Miller (left) and Kate Smith (right), taken after their celebrated performance as the Aurora Duo

Pepper AGM – The future’s bright…

About 50 people braved a cold night to attend the Pepper AGM on Wednesday 15 March at the Old Hall, Berkhamsted Collegiate School in Castle Street, Berkhamsted, chaired by newly elected Foundation Chairman, Jonathan Tweed.

Those who attended were suitably impressed with the way Pepper has developed over recent years in its main focus to raise funds for the Pepper Nursing Service, managed by Iain Rennie Hospice at Home (IRHH). As to the effect Pepper’s commitment has on providing those services, this was passionately reported by Gwynneth Wray, a member of the Pepper Nursing Team who delivered a moving speech at the end of the evening formalities. > Click here to see the full report

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Great Ormond Street Hospital update

In 2003, Pepper made a significant difference to the number of children who could receive bone marrow transplants at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, by donating £115,000 to enable them to build a new specialised laboratory, which was subsequently named the Pepper Bone Marrow Transplant Laboratory.

The recent closure of some paediatric services within other London Hospitals has led to more children requiring bone marrow transplants being referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Prior to the opening of the new Pepper Laboratory, around 50 transplants a year were performed. The newly expanded facilities have enabled this number to increase to 70 transplants a year and it is expected that this increase will continue in order to meet future needs.

Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire remain amongst the hospital’s largest referral centres and in 2004/05, children from Hertfordshire ranked first in the overall position of children referred to GOSH from any County outside London.

Kristina Cartwright-Riley from Potters Bar (left), photographed with her sister Rebecca, assisted at the official opening of the Pepper Bone Transplant Laboratory in September 2003. Kristina was only four years old when she was diagnosed with leukaemia and treated by bone marrow transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital. She is now eight years old and has made remarkable progress. She will continue to be monitored until adulthood.

The staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital is extremely grateful to the Pepper Foundation and extend their thanks for our generous support for its work for children like Kristina.

Isn’t that just what we all like to hear? Well done all our Pepper supporters out there who made this possible.

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Hospices Help Each Other

Jonathan Tweed, acting Pepper Chairman, recently delivered a minibus to the East Cheshire Hospice in Macclesfield, which had been returned to Pepper as a consequence of an organisational change by the original recipients, who were unable to make full use of it. Rather than have the specially converted and equipped minibus off the road doing nothing the Trustees decided to advertise the vehicle for sale where the advertisement was spotted by the now, new owners.

After several weeks of long distance document and money exchanges the delivery finally took place resulting in The East Cheshire Hospice being absolutely delighted with their new acquisition.

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Jonathan handing the keys over to Lynn Dobson and Joy Stevenson of the Macclesfield Hospice as the rest of their team look on.

Heads you lose, Tails we win

Pepper Foundation Chairman Jonathan Tweed was delighted to receive a cheque recently for £600 donated by Area Manager Steve Fox and his staff of Edmund Nuttall - Central & West London office, based at Ashlyns Hall in Berkhamsted.

The money was raised during the Company’s Annual Dinner and Dance, which was attended by over 200 people.

Generous staff members and their partners and guests, each contributed to the charity in order to compete in a game of Heads & Tails. When it got down to the final two competitors, both insisted on choosing heads. Tails was called therefore all the prize money was also forfeited into the charity collection as well!

Lois Wale, one of the event organisers, selected
Pepper as the Company’s chosen local charity, having
learned all about the work of Pepper as a result of her own
childrens’ participation in Pepper Youth.

Lois commented on how fortunate they were to have the
Pepper Nursing Service, managed by IRHH within their local
area and the difference it made to alleviate suffering by
funding 24-hour home care to children with traumatic
life-limiting and in some cases, terminal illnesses.

The Pepper Team would like to thank the team at Edmund
Nuttalls Berkhamsted office for their very generous
contribution.

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Jonathan Tweed (centre left) receiving the cheque from Steve Fox (centre right) surrounded by members of the Edmund Nuttall Team looking on.

Magnificent Cinderella

La Cenerentola – Rossini’ s Cinderella or ‘Goodness Triumphant’ took Berkhamsted by storm in February when the immensely talented and entertaining Garden Opera Company, staged a relatively unknown operatic version of Cinderella at the Berkhamsted Collegiate for Pepper’s annual visit to the opera.

Despite the fact that numbers were slightly down compared with previous years, due mainly to the start of half term for most families, this hilarious version of Cinderella had the audience rocking in their seats with laughter.

Martin Lloyd-Evans, production Director of the Garden Opera Company, did a magnificent job in turning a somewhat stereotyped version of a pantomime, which most people perceive to be exclusively a Walt Disney type production full of magic, mice and a charmed carriage that takes Cinders to the ball, into a modern present day version.

Rossini sought to abandon such frivolous magic in his rendition by losing both the fairy godmother and the carriage, replacing her with Alidoro (The Princes Tutor), a taxi waiting to take them all to the ball not to mention mobile phone communications, modern kitchen appliances and charity armbands instead of a glass slipper.

He saw a story of families and stepfamilies, of fate and of transforming goodness of unselfish love. The magic he saved for the music. Arguably, Rossini’s most accomplished work, Cenerentola revealed the finest integration of music and drama where characters were driven to emotional extremes to express their feelings through energetic and demanding coloratura.

Mike Jenkyns, promoter of the opera on behalf of Pepper Events, remarked in his summing up at the end of the performance, how those who decided to go skiing that week instead of attending the opera, missed out on one of the most entertaining of the operas to have come to Berkhamsted.

Councillor Jayne Hogg, Mayor of Dacorum who chose Pepper as her official Charity during this, her year in office, also attended the opera in an official capacity and was clearly appreciative of the performance. So too were members of the captivated audience who spoke of nothing else during the interval as they sampled the special cocktails created specially for the evening by members of the Pepper bar team.

Following the Pepper performance, The Garden Opera Company, who have raised over £150,000 alone during 2005 for selected charities of which Pepper are included, were flying out to Kenya to perform at several historic locations in the highlands and lowlands of this stunning country, raising funds for HIV and Conservation charities.

Next year’s performance will be Cosi fan Tutte, so keep an eye open for notification on date and ticket prices together with booking details nearer the time. For those who attended La Cenerentola and wrote their name and address on the reverse of their tickets that they handed into the door stewards, they will receive priority notification as will all those people currently on the mailing list.

To find out more about the Garden Opera Company, visit their web site www.gardenopera.co.uk .

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Charlie is our darling…

Members of the Pepper Nursing team recently went to visit a delightful patient of theirs in Prestwood Village, near Great Missenden, Buckinhamshire.

The Pepper Nurses have been caring for twelve year old Charlie Howitt for two years since he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and as a mark of appreciation for all the care the Pepper Nursing Team have provided, Charlie and his family and friends managed to raise a remarkable £250 for Pepper during a New Year party held in their village.

Charlie made his visitors day as one of them commented, “ He has a wonderful sense of humour, an amazing memory of films and TV programmes and tells some wicked jokes”!

Liz Ruff from the Pepper Nursing Team takes Charlie to horse riding sessions on Tuesday mornings – he rides a horse called Barbie whom he assures us is definitely not pink!

Thank you Charlie for your generous contribution to the work of the Pepper Nursing Team.

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Pepper Nurse Liz Ruff (left) with Charlie and friend Maria (right) who organized the New Year party.

The Spirit of Christmas

The historic All Saints Church in Berkhamsted town centre recently held a Spirit of Christmas Tree Festival as part of its ongoing 100th anniversary celebrations.

Local charities, organisations and groups were all invited to sponsor and decorate 32 trees on the theme of ‘The Spirit of Christmas’ which attracted a great deal of interest from the local community. The nave, sanctuary and aisles of the church were each decked with beautifully decorated trees, producing a pine-scented event to remember.

The Pepper Foundation and its partner, IRHH (The Iain Rennie Hospice at Home) both decorated trees.

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Beaujolais Victors

Winners of the Beaujolais Champagne Challenge “Novice” event, Pepper’s very own John and Daphne Watts, write about their recent experience in France.

They always say that the best sort of fundraising is one, which highlights the ‘fun’ part of ‘fund’. The annual Beaujolais Champagne Challenge in aid of IRHH, Pepper and other charities fits this bill perfectly.

It all starts with drinking lots of wine at various wine tasting events organised by Robert Breakwell and his team from IRHH, who were joined this year by the Pepper Foundation. From those combined events, many orders were consolidated so that much of the wine could be collected during the Challenge.

The fundraising aspect of the exercise came from the margin or percentage made from the sale of each bottle of wine, together with donations made at the wine tastings and sponsorship by participating organisations. BP Castrol who generously doubled all the money raised substantially boosted all of this. This year the total for IRHH and Pepper is expected to exceed £20,000, a fantastic result for all the ‘fun’ everyone had raising it.

When invited to represent the Pepper Foundation on this year’s Challenge, we were delighted to take part, particularly as it was the Mayor of Dacorum’s chosen charity this year. The event, masterminded by BP Castrol, has been a major fund raiser for IRHH for several years, but this is the first year Pepper have taken part. Brayley Honda of Hemel Hempstead generously provided a Honda CRV for the Mayor’s trip and we took our own car, which was sponsored by Autorama of Cow Roast near Tring.

The event started on the 13th November, so we volunteered to join the main contingent of 10 vehicles with the Mayor, Cllr Jane Hogg and the deputy Mayor, Cllr Catherine Appleby, after they had taken part in the annual Remembrance Day parade.

A mad dash down to Dover enabled us to catch an earlier ferry than expected and across to our first night’s stop at Chateau Thierry near Rheims – no we didn’t stay at the Chateau just the local Ibis Hotel!

Having met up with our fellow challengers we did begin to wonder what we were getting into when greeted by the famous ‘Men in Black’, Mac and Chris, who were to lead us in convoy across the wilder parts of France as we careered down to our next stop at Chassey-le Camp. The journey was huge fun as were the two stops we made at the Domaines of Lamy Pillot and Jean Collet where we tasted the latest vintage and collected samples for next year’s wine tastings. This latter venue, the home of Montrachet, was where we teamed up with the infamous Musketeers, Gerry, Phil and Brian, whose knowledge of the wines, vineyards and restaurants of the area is legendary.

Following a fabulous meal and comfortable night in a local Auberge, we drove on down to Blacé near Villefranche this time in convoy with Lesley, our accomplished event co-coordinator, who’s more normally organising the Iain Rennie and Pepper shops. She was the instigator of the ‘Dress the Rennie Bear’ competition judged that night and won by long time IRHH volunteer Gill Morgan who created a fantastic outfit complete with a knitted champagne bottle!

Of course the highlight of the event was the Beaujolais release ceremony for this year’s vintage held as usual at Francois Grignon’s, Maisons Neuves vineyard where a couple of chaps from our team were inducted as Chevaliers de Beaujolais in an exuberant ceremony. This was followed by a grand feast with many of the local villagers and accompanied by glasses of the just released Beaujolais Nouveau which sadly we couldn’t partake of as at midnight we had to set off on the Challenge part of the event.

This involved traveling from Blacé to Mareuil-sur-Ay near Rheims in the shortest distance visiting various checkpoints on route. We took part in the novice event with only one checkpoint but somehow managed to win! There were times in the early hours of a dark and frosty morning when I thought “If we breakdown here we won’t be discovered for weeks”. However, we made it to the Champagne House of Guy Charbaut where they had prepared a splendid breakfast for us all.

The final round of the whole trip was a dinner hosted by Guy Charbaut himself where lots of prizes were presented and much champagne was drunk, but not before Robert and the burly blokes of the team packed and repacked the van, generously sponsored by Furnell Transport, and the accompanying Landover’s, with all the wine collected to satisfy the many dozens of orders taken at the various home and corporate wine tasting.

Truly a great experience and thanks to sponsors, drivers and wine buyers a very beneficial one.

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The IRHH’s annual celebration of French wines and Champagnes took place, involving teams from Iain Rennie, the Pepper Foundation and Prospect Hospice, who joined organisers and
sponsors from BP Castrol for the Annual Beaujolais Challenge 2005

Travelling south through Burgundy, the teams took the opportunity to visit the celebrated vineyards of Lamy Pillo in Chassagne Montrachet. Following an in-depth tasting and with guidance from family member, Sebastien, wines were selected which will be added to the range offered by IRHH in 2006

John and Daphne with their prizes after winning the Novice Challenge

The Mayor of Dacorum, Cllr Jane Hogg, representing her charity, The Pepper Foundation, acknowledges her thanks to the sponsors of her vehicle, a Honda CRV donated by Brayley Honda of Hemel Hempstead

Marcella and Hayley share a night at the Oscars

Marcella Hemmings and Hayley Clarke held a spectacular joint 30th Birthday party on Saturday 5th November with the theme “A Night at the Oscars”.

Guests enjoyed an evening of dancing to Mr Kites Band, “who were excellent” said Marcella, as well as a firework display. Marcella and Hayley raised £205 for Pepper by holding a raffle and selling photographs of guests.

We would like to thank both Marcella and Hayley for sharing their very special occasion with Pepper.

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Mayor's Christmas Concert success

Over 180 people packed the Boxmoor Playhouse on Saturday 3rd December, to enjoy the Mayor of Dacorum’s Christmas Concert, which raised an impressive £1800 for the Pepper Foundation.

The Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company Singers performed a varied programme including classics by Gilbert and Sullivan, Mozart, Ivor Novello, and Offenbach.

In contrast, the Hemel Hempstead Band presented their own lively renditions of The Dambusters March, Bad Leroy Brown, Dem Bones, The Toreadors song, Amarillo and many more! An enthusiastic audience also joined in with a selection of Christmas carols before the finale - Finlandia by Sibelius.

The raffle held during the evening, raised a further £174 and an additional £128 was collected through a bucket collection as guests left the playhouse.

Our thanks go to everyone who dedicated so much time and effort in making the evening such a great success.

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Pepper Fundraising: 0845 6755566

The Pepper Foundation Registered Charity Number 1056823

Editor Dennis Fairey Designed by KM Design Built by 3DB Ltd Maintained by moscovitch