12/08/10 Another intrepid (some say mad!) cyclist Cycling for charity seems to be all the rage these days, but with each challenge being more demanding than the last, it’s certainly not for wimps! Having done it before, it appears that Terry McGuire just couldn’t resist donning the Lycra shorts and cycling from London to Paris all over again in late July, this time in aid of the Samson Centre. Terry (in pale blue top) stands head & shoulders above the rest! Rather him than me – I cannot begin to imagine the sort of stamina that such a feat demands, but a lifetime of club rugby has obviously prepared Terry well! His efforts have certainly been well rewarded: once GiftAid has been added, Terry and his many supporters have raised in excess of £1,475, with every penny going to the Samson Centre, as Terry paid all his own costs. All in all, a superb effort, and one much appreciated by all of us at the Samson Centre. 12/08/10 LEJOG - he made it! Mike Billinghurst, former Round Tabler and long-time friend of John Hambly, decided some time ago that he should mark the attainment of his half-century with a challenge of some description. Although his main hobby is sailing, the cost of making his boat seaworthy enough to sail out of the Solent, let alone any further afield, was out of the question, so he settled on a cycling challenge instead. And what bigger challenge for a part-time cyclist than the ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats (a.k.a. LEJOG)? The photos below show that not only did he make it but he celebrated the achievement with a well-deserved pint! Mike relaxes in time-honoured style at the finish line at John O’Groats In the process, Mike has raised over £450 (once GiftAid is added) for the Samson Centre. Well done for completing such a gruelling endeavour, and many thanks for your support, Mike! 01/08/10 Miss Bounty – will she run and run? Regular visitors to this page will know by now that former MSTG(G) chairman and racing afficianado John Hambly has persuaded various friends to invest in a syndicate called the Friends of the Samson Centre, which gives them a part-share of a 5-year-old mare, Miss Bounty. The aim of the partnership is to have some fun, hopefully win some money, and also benefit the Samson Centre. To that end, the partnership presented MSTG(G) vice-chairman Jim Fardell with a cheque for £2,100, representing the embedded donations from the syndicate's members, at the race meeting at Lingfield on the 24th July. It takes two people to tear the cheque out of John Hambly’s grasp! Click here to see how Miss Bounty fared on the night. 01/08/10 Jane Ervine – RIP Jane Ervine, who died recently, had MS for around 30 years. She was an occasional visitor to the Samson Centre, particularly our coffee mornings. Former MSTG(G) chairman John Hambly reports "I know from her good friends at Godalming Woolsack Rotary & Inner Wheel Clubs, particularly Ian & Patience Smith, who co-ordinated the funeral donations, that Jane got a lot of comfort from chatting to our members in the last few years." Thanks to the generosity of her family and friends, cheques totalling £395 have been presented to the MSTG(G) in her memory. 01/08/10 Inner Wheel of Godalming Woolsack visit The MSTG(G) was the grateful recipient of a very generous donation of £1,150 from the ladies of the Inner Wheel of Godalming Woolsack. The cheque was presented during a visit to the Samson Centre by a number of the club’s members on the 7th July, and we are grateful to Brenda Tye for her photo (below) capturing the event for posterity. It is always gratifying to be be able to show off the Centre to our benefactors, as we hope that it gives them a real sense of exactly how much their support means to our members.