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Please use the following links to access our News and Newsletter archives.
 Branch Christmas Lunch10 December 2005On Friday 10th December 2004 we held our annual Christmas Lunch at the Albrighton Hall Hotel, Albrighton, Shrewsbury. The function was attended by The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Shrewsbury and Atcham, Councillor Miles Kenny, branch Chaplain, Reverend Mark Thomas and 115 members and carers. This was an excellent function, thoroughly enjoyed by all. The Mayor visited each table to chat with members but sadly had to leave shortly after lunch to attend another Mayoral function. Mark Thomas said grace and also met members and their carers. A raffle held after the meal raised in excess of £300. This was our last official function of the year. Shrewsbury and District Branch would like to wish everyone a Very Happy Christmas and New Year. Quiz Night22 October 2005On Friday 22nd October we held a Quiz Night at Mereside Community Centre, Shrewsbury. 48 hopefuls attended and sat through 100 questions set by the Branch Chairman, Dave Fisher. When all the questions had been asked a light supper was served by volunteers. Jacket potatoes with a variety of fillings followed by fresh fruit ensured everyone was ready for the pleasure of knowing they were right or the annoyance of knowing that they were wrong. Several teams had formed from the assembled company and one team, aptly calling themselves 'The Eggheads' won with an excellent score of 83. Second, third and fourth places were a close run thing all scoring between 70 and 75 points. The disappointed booby prize winners took away a quiz book so they can brush up for next time. A thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all and we raised in the region of £100.00 for branch funds. New Branch Chaplain18 October 2005On Friday 22nd October we held a Quiz Night at Mereside Community Centre, Shrewsbury. 48 hopefuls attended and sat through 100 questions set by the Branch Chairman, Dave Fisher. When all the questions had been asked a light supper was served by volunteers. Jacket potatoes with a variety of fillings followed by fresh fruit ensured everyone was ready for the pleasure of knowing they were right or the annoyance of knowing that they were wrong. Several teams had formed from the assembled company and one team, aptly calling themselves 'The Eggheads' won with an excellent score of 83. Second, third and fourth places were a close run thing all scoring between 70 and 75 points. The disappointed booby prize winners took away a quiz book so they can brush up for next time. A thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all and we raised in the region of £100.00 for branch funds. Children's Christmas Card CompetitionOctober 2005For the first time, Shrewsbury and District Branch have held a Children's Christmas Card Competition. This was the brainchild of Branch Secretary, Mo Pullen who invited children associated with members to design a card of their choice. Entries were received from children locally, but also from as far afield as Berkshire, Devon, Sussex and Ireland! The competition was judged by Daniel Kawczynski, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Shrewsbury and Atcham. Daniel said: "It was a great pleasure and privilege for me to be asked to judge this competition. I thought that the standard of entries was extraordinarily high and it was hard to judge the best ones. They all did very well indeed. I look forward to seeing the cards and to buying some!" The winners who each received a book token and had their cards printed with their names on, were: Amber Whelan (aged 3¾) from Shrewsbury; Abbey Turnbull (aged 8) from Sussex; Carly Pullen (aged 9) from Devon and Anna Pugh (aged 14) from Shrewsbury. The exclusive cards (2 of each design in a pack), have been printed by CreativeDigital of Shrewsbury. The cards are available at the Charity Christmas Card Centre, St Mary's Church, St Mary's Street, Shrewsbury from Friday 29th October or by calling the Branch telephone number 01743 364484. Pictured with a display which ran for a week in the Pride Hill Centre, Shrewsbury is branch secretary, Mo Pullen. Not only did the display sell some of the cards, but also helped promote the profile of the branch. Three new volunteers were recruited as a result. 'Stall in The Square'
29 September 2005Wednesday 29th September was a dull and drizzly day in Shrewsbury, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of our band of volunteers. They once again stealthily erected the branch pavilion at 7.30 am ready for the steady stream of vehicles which arrived packed with a variety of cakes, jams, marmalades, chutneys, books, bric-a-brac, toys, records, videos and much, much more. After a slow start to the morning there was soon brisk trading going on where eager members of the public searched for a bargain. And bargains were there to be had. Despite the weather which had a cold nip to it as well as the rain, Shrewsbury residents again did us proud. By 1.00 pm when we were due to leave we still had many customers still seeking that one last bargain. We even had to carry the 6 metre by 4 metre pavilion over the heads of customers in order to dismantle it! We in fact outstayed our welcome by about an hour and a half but we were both shocked and extremely pleased when we counted up the takings at the end of the afternoon. We had sold goods and received donations totalling £1000.00. For this the committee and members of the branch would like to thank the residents and visitors to Shrewsbury who gave their generous support to us throughout the day. We would also like to thank Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council for granting us the licence for the use of the market Square. The Chairman of the branch would also like to express his personal thanks to all the volunteers who turned out to help on the day and especially those who had no previous connections with us. Their help was invaluable. Our picture shows Mo Pullen, branch secretary and Hilary Fisher, deputy welfare officer on duty at the stall. Branch Chaplain takes his leave15 September 2005It is with great sadness that Shrewsbury and District Branch announces the departure of their Chaplain, Reverend Phillip Bytheway. Phill has been with the branch for some 18 years and has finally had to leave us due to his increasing parish workload. Phill has been a great strength to many of our members and has organised the annual branch Church Service for a number of years. We shall all miss him, but wish both he and his wife Marion all the very best for the future. Street Collection in Shrewsbury Town Centre21 August 2005Fair weather prevailed throughout most of the day on Saturday 21st August for our street collection in Shrewsbury town centre. Our volunteers were out in force from 8.30 am until 4.30 pm and collected a handsome sum of £1088.00. Our thanks as always go to the volunteers who collected and to the residents of and visitors to Shrewsbury who gave so generously. Open Garden at Church Stretton, Shropshire
18 August 2005Mavis and Ian Anderson together with their immediate neighbours Chris and Barry Peer of 'Scotsmansfield', Burway Road, Church Stretton, Shropshire are members of the National Garden Scheme. On Wednesday 18th August 2004 they hosted an 'Open Gardens' afternoon at their homes. Our branch was invited to lay on the teas with profits from this going to branch funds. The day started badly with heavy rain in the morning making it look as though the event may be a washout. Nevertheless we ploughed on with the preparations and shortly before the gardens opened at 2.00 pm the sun broke through and stayed with us for the duration of the opening. Nearly 170 visitors turned up over the next three hours and enjoyed two extremely well kept and well stocked gardens backed up by the knowledge and expertise of Mavis, Ian, Chris and Barry. Our volunteers were kept extremely busy throughout the afternoon and branch funds were boosted to the tune of £177.20. We extend our thanks to our hosts, to our 'tea ladies' and to the many, many visitors who took tea with us. As the last of the visitors left the skies blackened and a thunder storm followed with torrential rain driving us all indoors as the last of the clearing up was completed. It did not however spoil what was indeed a most enjoyable day. Garden open at The Lowe, Wem, Shropshire11 July 2005After a week which saw Shropshire battered by gale force winds and heavy rain 'lady luck' showed us favour with fair weather when David and Ann Jones opened their garden to raise funds for the branch. A steady stream of visitors wandered through the gardens and the day concluded with a staggering £1000.00 being presented to us. The gardens, which extend for 2 acres consist of formal planting around the house, a recently constructed fernery, part of a restored medieval moat and other striking features. In the last month David and Ann had cleared a path through a small wooded area and built a bird hide. This area attracts a wide variety of birds to its tranquil corners. The garden looked absolutely wonderful and drew many admiring comments from the visitors. It came as no surprise that the garden has since won the 'Best Garden in Wem' competition. We would like to record our special thanks to David and Ann for allowing us this special day for obtaining some wonderful prizes for the raffle. David Austin Roses donated four superb rose bushes, ETC of Chirk donated garden furniture and Rickards Ferns of North Wales donated an Australian tree fern. It was a day not to be missed. Tin Collection at Sainsbury's Store, Meole Brace, Shrewsbury2 July 2005Sainsbury's Store on Meole Brace Retail Park, Shrewsbury kindly allowed us two days Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd July, 2004 to hold a tin collection within the store. Volunteers collected a total of £752.83 and the branch is particularly grateful to those who gave up their time to collect, to the manager and staff at the store who made us welcome and of course to the customers who gave so generously. Stall in The Square at Shrewsbury2 June 20057.30 am on Wednesday 2nd June saw two volunteers quietly erecting a pavilion in Shrewsbury's historic market square. They were getting ready for a mass of cakes, jams, chutneys, games, toys, plants, clothing and bric-a-brac shortly to arrive with a host of volunteers. This was one of many similar stalls held over the years by the branch and we were not disappointed. The weather was superb, the volunteers cheerful and the customers, as always, generous. The thanks of the branch go to everyone involved and to Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council for allowing us the use of The Square until 1.00 pm and for providing us with the tables. At the end of the four hour session the stall made a total of £674.37. Tin Collection at Morrison's Supermarket28 May 2005Morrisons Supermarket, Whitchurch Road, Shrewsbury kindly allowed our volunteers to hold a tin collection within the store on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th May. We started early each day and our last collector left at 6.30 pm Over the two days thanks to the generosity of Morrisons customers we collected a magnificent sum of £938.53. A big thank you to everyone involved. Street Collection in Church Stretton22 May 2005A fairly warm, sunny day greeted our volunteers on Saturday 22nd May 2004 in the south Shropshire town of Church Stretton, where we had been granted permission for a street collection. Over the course of the morning and early afternoon 12 volunteers took to the streets and collected £410.67. Our thanks go to the residents and visitors who gave so generously. Branch Annual Church Service9 May 2005Sunday 9th May 2004 saw the branch hold its Annual Church service at the Parish Church of St. James', Cardington, near Church Stretton. The service is organised every year by the branch Chaplain, Reverend Phillip Bytheway. Prayers were led by Reverend Jill Groves and the Very Reverend Michael Tavinor, Dean of Hereford Cathedral was the Special Speaker. We were joined this year by the actor Kevin Whately of 'Inspector Morse' fame and he delivered both readings during the service. The service was attended by some 60 members of the branch and tea was provided afterwards in the Village Hall. The ladies of the Cardington Mothers Union had put on a spread fit for a King with delicious sandwiches, cakes and trifles. Kevin and his wife Madeline joined us for tea and he later signed many autographs for fans. Branch Annual General Meeting8 May 2005The branch held its Annual General Meeting at Crowmoor Baptist Church Hall on Saturday 8th May 2004. Dave Fisher was re-elected to the Chair for the next 12 months, Ruth Pagett was re-elected to serve as branch Treasurer. This year saw a new Secretary elected following the decision by Liz Wells not to stand for re-election in an officer role. Liz is expecting her first child in July and will have her hands full. Mo Pullen, who has been a branch member for some time, volunteered her services and was duly elected. Mo is an office manager with a Shrewsbury based international company and brings with her a wealth of IT knowledge and experience . Street Collection in Whitchurch30 April 2005On Friday 30th April 2004 the branch held a street collection in Whitchurch. It was a cold day braved by six of our volunteers, who between them collected £352.41. Our thanks go to the volunteers and particularly to the people of Whitchurch for their generosity. Charity Stall in Church Stretton24 April 2005Church Stretton Town Council provided, free of charge, covered stalls for any local charity. Volunteers were able to sell a variety of goods of their choice. Shrewsbury and District Branch are lucky in that they have two extremely competent cake makers. Both have achieved the required Hygiene Certification for their produce and on this particular day had excelled themselves with their goods. Ruth Pagett, branch treasurer and Eileen Wharton, branch volunteer had been baking all night to put on a truly remarkable selection of cakes. Ruth is also an accomplished jam and preserves maker and had also brought along a fine choice of marmalades, lemon curd and chutneys. The market opened at 9.30 am and by 1.00 pm the stock was almost sold out. The stall made a total of £181.15. |
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