GALLERY
Midnight delight for hospice
More than 800 Hertfordshire women spent a Saturday night pounding the streets of St Albans to raise funds for Grove House Hospice. The 10-mile Midnight Walk, now in its second year, was bigger and better than ever, attracting twice as many walkers. Energetic, enthusiastic ladies from all over the area joined the fun, teams such as Twilight Totty, The Midnight Cowboys and The Dolly Birds even dressed in costume for the occasion. The Mayor of St Albans, Bert Pawle, attended the event and did the countdown to start the walk on the stroke of midnight. One of the walkers, Ethne Ozholl of St Albans said, ‘We had a really great evening, the atmosphere was amazing and it was a beautiful moonlit night. I had never walked this far before and was a bit anxious, but I’ll certainly be signing up for next year.’ Event organiser, Kathryn Wash from Grove House said, ‘I would really like to thank all the walkers for taking part and the volunteers who gave their time to help on the evening. I must also thank our generous sponsors including Christopher Place, Champneys, Hertfordshire Life and the Herts Advertiser.’
PICTURES
Jeanette, Sandra, Laura, Jan and Linda VIEW » 
Joan Preston, Sylvia Simpson, Fynmi Joseph, Rita Kennelly and Jal Oddy VIEW » 
Sarah, Katie, Florence and Dee VIEW »
GALLERY
Blooming marvellous
THE sun shone just enough for visitors to enjoy the garden party delights of the Rose Weekend at Hatfield House on June 21 and 22.
Celebrity television gardener and presenter Sarah Raven showed visitors how to arrange garden blooms to best effect on Saturday and then launched the new rose Young Princess which celebrates Elizabeth I’s early years at Hatfield. This year is the 450th Anniversary of Elizabeth’s accession to the throne – she held her first Council of State in the Great Hall of Hatfield in 1558.
The sun shone on Sunday as Hertfordshire Life’s garden writer Philippa Pearson gave tips on garden design. The singers from Stevenage Chorus squeezed into the demonstration marquee to finish the day’s presentations with some wonderful music while later in the afternoon talented young violinist Sally Potterton played in the house and chatted to visitors about the instrument loan scheme at Benslow Music Trust, Hitchin, which provided her violin.
During the weekend plants, pots, garden furniture and horticultural sundries were on sale from specialists and nurserymen and the whole event supported Perennial, the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society and the National Gardens Scheme. The garden at Hatfield House is planted for year round colour and so if you missed the Rose Weekend, there is still plenty to see.
PICTURES
Elodie, two, and mum Syrie VIEW » 
Betty and Ron Livermore VIEW » 
Deputy Mayor Kim Morris, Lisa Seccombe and Julie Keimbrey VIEW » 
Sarah Raven and Christa Langan VIEW »
GALLERY
Fly Me To The Moon raises Willow Foundation cash
Brookmans in Brookmans Park was the venue for a glamourous black tie event to raise money for Hatfield based charity the Willow Foundation. The event, ‘Fly Me To The Moon’, featured entertainment by a rat pack tribute band, a casino, silent auction and raffle as well as a seafood buffet. Prizes up for grabs were a helicopter lesson, Aston Martin DBS test drive, a golf weekend, spa treatments and many more. The event was organised by Brookmans owner Paul Barham who, along with his family, are great supporters of the charity. The Willow Foundation is a national charity set up by Arsenal legend, Bob Wilson and his wife, Megs, which provides special days for seriously ill 16 to 40-year-olds throughout the UK. Jenny Vickers from the Willow Foundation said the event was a huge success, in total raising £17,500 for the charity.
PICTURES
Amilios Costa, Lulu Costa, Tony Tubby, Michelle Hewitt VIEW » 
Matt Leaver, Sarah Leaver VIEW » 
Chloe Nordigian, Jessica Martin VIEW » 
Jamie Shawyer, Nicky Darlington, Martin Darlington VIEW »
GALLERY
Chamber celebrates St George
The St Albans District Chamber of Commerce celebrated St George’s Day at Sopwell House Hotel. More than 320 members came together over lunch and with the help of Alan Mullery and Steve Perryman, ex Spurs players, they raised £5,000 for the Musgrove Leukemic Group but with the backing of Barclays Corporate Banking this was doubled to £10,000. The President Sandra Oldfield, presented the new Vice President Graham Lane from Cheeky Munkey with his chain of office. In her speech she thanked all the sponsors and especially McKeowns Solicitors which sponsored the main event.
Photos taken by Chris Hawkes from Hawkeye Photography
PICTURES
Richard Mcfarland and Ginny Cooper VIEW » 
Steve Perryman, Sue Mountford, Lisa Bates, Alan Mullery VIEW » 
Caroline Wilson, Sandra Oldfield, Anne Maine MP Kate Morris, Mayor of St Albans VIEW » 
Chris Small and Philip Spurden VIEW »
GALLERY
Ladies dress up for Ascot theme
More than 260 people attended an Ascot Day at Ickleford on June 19 – Ladies Day – and enjoyed a four course lunch, balloon entertainment and, of course, the thrills of racing at Royal Ascot via the big screens. Money raised from the day went to Hitchin’s Christmas Lights Fund which needs to raise £25,000 each year and also contributed to the recent appeal launched for a new minibus for Hitchin Helping Hands – a community transport service for the elderly and those with temporary or permanent mobility problems. The event was organised by the Hitchin Town Centre Initiative.
PICTURES
Christine Adams, Derrick and Allison Ashley VIEW » 
Tess Roberts, Mark Dixon, Emily Dixon, Colin Felton VIEW » 
Sue Manning, Morag Norgan, Hayley King, Karen Kenny VIEW » 
Trevor Thompson and Sue Donnachie VIEW »
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