RAISING MONEY FOR THE WILTSHIRE AIR AMBULANCE

Mr. HCB and I have had a very busy day today - we were asked if we would like to help raise money for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance by having a stall at the Jovial Monk at St. Andrews Ridge in Swindon for their Spring Fayre.

After sorting out numerous jigsaw puzzles and books, we were there by 12 noon and didn’t get home until almost 6 p.m. - and on such a hot day, we were in the conservatory of the pub, which didn’t have any large opening windows.  I reckon I lost about half a stone in the heat, which will obviously counteract the effects of the wonderful coffee and walnut cake made for me by Sue, one of the organisers of the Fayre!

It was a great afternoon and although we didn’t sell that much, we did raise £30 towards the costs of the WAA, which is totally funded by donations, so we were happy with that.

I decided to do a collage to show our day - on the left hand side is a shot of Stuart and Jessica, two volunteers from the WAA.  I wanted to interview them both, as I had taken my microphone, but Stuart was rather shy, so I interviewed Jessica instead, to find out more about the work that the Air Ambulance Service does over a very wide area.

At the bottom left is the community defibrillator, which was purchased by money raised by Sue and Lyn - at the bottom right.  They are tireless fundraisers, not only on occasions like this, but also by hosting the Ridge Coffee Club on a regular basis, and always seem to be smiling - I think that the parma violet gin might have helped Sue to smile a little more than usual today!  Actually I tasted some of her drink and despite thinking it might be too sweet, it was rather good!  I did manage to interview Sue - we found a shady spot just round the corner from the defibrillator, where we could chat easily.

At the top right of the collage is Vikki, one of the “Girls About Town”, playing the violin and Debbie, a mutual friend, playing the cello.  They have formed a duo called “Strictly Strings” and did very well this afternoon, despite the heat - but they too managed to find a shady spot - and I was also able to interview Vikki and to record some of their playing. 

It was good to see Jo and Clare, so along with Vikki we really were  “Girls About Town”, so it seemed a good idea for Debbie to take a photograph of all of us together, rather than me struggling to get a selfie.  

All in all a great afternoon - thanks to all those who helped to raise funds by having a stall at the Fayre and those who came to spend their money - the thing is, you just never know when you might need the services of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, so it’s good to know we can all help by giving our time and money.  Mr. HCB and I have a special interest and reason to be thankful to the skill of the pilots and the paramedics as our younger son was air-lifted to hospital after his serious accident almost 30 years ago so it was good to be able to help today.

“Giving is not just about
     making a donation;
          it’s about making a difference!”
Kathy Calvin