30/06/08 Effingham entertainment It all seems a long time ago now (except to the organisers, who are still recovering!), but a splendid time was had by all at the Annual Garden Party in Effingham Junction in aid of the MSTG(G) on Saturday 7th June. The event used to be run by stalwart MSTG(G) supporter Pat le Sueur and was known as "Pat’s Garden Party". Pat is no longer actively involved in the organisation, and the baton has been picked up by David Williams, Margaret Lee, Sheila Thorogood and the rest of the staff at Forest Road General Stores, who decided that, despite its name, the event should be moved indoors, to the climatically safer environs of the newly-furbished Church Hall in Forest Road. A number of stalls had been set out, selling a variety of goods, including cards, jams, books and plants – the latter having being grown from seeds by local gardeners. One of the most popular stalls was the cake stall, especially as the £3 entrance fee included not only as many cups of tea as you wanted but also the opportunity to sample some of the cakes. The event attracted a steady stream of visitors throughout the afternoon, bearing testament to not only the organisers' marketing skills but also their popularity (and that of the cause, of course!). When the dust had settled, the magnificent sum of £1,014.73 had been raised. Dave, well done and thanks to you and all your team – you can rest assured that the fruits of all your hard work make a big difference to this small charity! 15/06/08 What a weekend! The three days between Friday 13th and Sunday 15th June turned out to be a bumper weekend for the Samson Centre, with events in Guildford and Milford: • 30 brave supporters overcame their triskaidekaphobia to take part in the collection in Guildford town centre on Friday 13th, raising the sum of £1,482.76, which eclipsed last year’s total of £1,034.20. As it was made up of 1,482 notes and coins, including 829 pound coins, great care had to be taken when paying it in at the bank to avoid getting a hernia! Full marks (and grateful thanks) to volunteer Rodney Perry – not even an MSTG(G) member – who collected for 5 solid hours, single-handedly raising an incredible £197.42! He’s even volunteered to do it again for us! • Saturday 14th saw the Milford Village Fete, at which the MSTG(G) once again had a stall. This raised the very healthy sum of £468.00. • Then on Sunday 15th, the MSTG(G) had a number of stalls at Secrett’s, the Garden Centre and Farm Shop in Milford, which celebrated its centenary at the weekend. Activities included a tombola, a tiger-naming competition, guessing the number of flying saucers in a bottle (or was it a Tardis?), and two fiendishly difficult manual dexterity games devised by MSTG(G) stalwart Jim Fardell, all of which raised £492. Throughout the weekend, MSTG(G) chairman John Hambly and others were hard at work selling tickets for the Samson Centre Summer Draw, the prizes for which will be drawn at the the Samson Charity night at the White Lion pub in Milford on Thursday 31st July. Already a massive £646 has been raised, with over a month to go! Well done and thanks to all involved in the three events! 10/06/08 Al fresco at Tesco This year Tesco's Guildford branch very kindly offered the MSTG(G) two consecutive days on which to collect outside the store. Even better, the cold and damp of the previous few days had disappeared and it was very pleasant indeed to stand in the warm sunshine, indulge in a little people-watching, and feel one’s collecting tin grow ever heavier. • The 11 people who took part in the collection on Thursday 5th June raised a very healthy £668.06 between them. MSTG(G) chairman John Hambly was top of the class, raising £106.38 in his 2-hour stint. • 12 people turned out the following day and swelled the Samson coffers by a further £689.56. Not bad for a couple of days in the sun! 10/06/08 Etape update (and that’s not easy to say!) We reported on the 18th May (see below) that cyclist Clive Noel had raised more than £400 for the Samson Centre by cycling the 134km of the Etape Caledonia in bonny Scotland. Well, the money keeps rolling in, and we have been advised that his total has now reached £700! Well done, Clive! 30/05/08 Liz knows the drill! That’s how local paper the Surrey Advertiser (www.getsurrey.co.uk) headlined their article on the recent Charity Golf Day at Bramley Golf Club in aid of the Samson Centre. With the kind permission of the Surrey Advertiser, the full article is reproduced below: "Her vocabulary was the same – but when dentist Liz Telford uttered the immortal words "open wide", she wasn’t looking for teeth. Bramley ladies captain Telford instead used her dental skills to extract money from around 120 players taking part in last Friday’s charity day at the picturesque course. And so successful was her pleading to open wallets this time, not mouths, that a massive £10,000 was raised for the Samson Centre, a Guildford-based organisation which supports multiple sclerosis sufferers and their families. During an Italian dinner, 24 sponsors donated special lots for silent and bidding auctions to bolster the fund before the successful fundraising evening was crowned by a highly amusing speech from the BBC’s voice of rugby, Ian Robertson, the club’s VIP guest." Our thanks go to everyone involved in this tremendous boost to the Samson Centre’s coffers. 18/05/08 Etape Caledonia Not content with cycling all the way from Paris to Guildford last year in aid of the Samson Centre, superfit cyclist Clive Noel has been at it again, this time taking on the challenge of the Etape Caledonia, a 134km ride through the magnificent but gruelling scenery of Perthshire, which he completed in 4hrs 16min. Once Gift Aid has been added, Clive has raised well over £400 – another superb effort, and one for which we are most grateful. Click here to read how Clive himself described the weekend. 11/05/08 Fundraising updates • A bunch of Samsonites descended on Farnham for the second time this year on the 3rd May, this time collecting in the town centre and raising a very healthy £836.29. In the process, they proved the truth in the old cliché "Location, location, location": those collecting at the bottom of Lion & Lamb Way collected an average of £92.35 per hour, while those at the corner of Castle Street and The Borough could only average a comparatively measly £27.12 per hour. Still, every penny helps! • Less than a week later, on the 9th May, 12 people turned out in glorious sunshine to collect in Dorking. The pitch outside Waitrose proved to be more lucrative than that in the High Street, but between the two of them £596.05 was raised for the Samson Centre. We cannot over-emphasise how valuable these collections are to the group, nor how appreciative the organisers are of offers to help. If you are prepared to give up an hour of your time in this way, please contact us to find out the dates of future collections. 02/05/08 Now this dressing-down was Welcome! Joe Kuzniar, the husband of MTSG(G) chairman John Hambly’s cousin, organised a Dress Down Day at his workplace, Welcome Financial Services Ltd. in Nottingham in aid of the Samson Centre. The idea obviously went down well with his colleagues, as it raised a stunning £330 for the group! Pictured above are some of those who took part (from left): Tamsyn Belshaw, Sarah Smith, Becky Forbes, Joe Kuzniar, Kerry Seward and Becky Webster. Our thanks go to you all! 13/04/08 London Marathon - how do they do it? This year’s London Marathon saw two people running in aid of the Samson Centre: Sarah Jones and Naomi Bellworthy. Neither had run a marathon before, but both finished the course, raising almost £4,000 between them in the process – a feat all the more remarkable for the fact that Naomi injured herself in training shortly before the day but, unbelievably, decided to carry on and complete the Marathon at a walk, which she managed in 7 hours, 9 minutes and 17 seconds. Fortunately, Sarah was injury-free; she completed her first ever London Marathon in 5 hours, 43 minutes and 12 seconds, and has since written a very entertaining account of her experience. Ladies, we salute your efforts! Click here for Sarah’s account. 15/04/08 Recent street collections It may be April, with its traditional mix of sunshine and showers, but that didn't deter various Samson supporters who braved the elements to raise funds for the Samson Centre through recent tin rattles: • 10 people took part in the collection outside Waitrose in Farnham on the 5th April. They may have been small in number, but they raised a very creditable £850.11. Star of the show was Jim Fardell, who collected an incredible £140.95 in his 2-hour stint. • A mere week later, on the 12th April, 20 people took part in the collection in Cranleigh, which raised £841.67 for the Samson coffers. These street collections are the lifeblood of the Group, and helpers are always required and much appreciated. If you are prepared to give up an hour of your time in this way, please contact us to find out the dates of future collections.