Christmas carol concert spreads holiday cheer

This year's Christmas carol concert featured a few surprise guests--a choir of our Area Managers, who had secretly been practicing their singing under the guidance of Head of Volunteers and National Networks, Philip Rosser. Their performance went over well, as did the singing of the Tabard Singers, who might have been more professionally polished, but they could not have beat the Area Managers' enthusiasm.

The evening raised over £400 for Independent Age, which will help many older people to have a nicer Christmas this year. Thanks to all of you who came, and to all of our other supporters.

Big Tea raises £262 for Independent Age

Thanks to Barbara Miles, who organised a Big Tea on November 20 at All Saints Church in Mudeford, raising £262 for Independent Age. Here she is, pictured centre, with organising volunteers Elaine Lawford and Bill Deans,and some tasty-looking treats:

While we promote the Big Tea in October, to coincide with International Older People's Day, anyone is welcome to hold their own Big Tea, at any time of the year. If you would like to find out more, please email Harriet Steele to learn more.

Holiday fun with Independent Age

If you're in London this December, come celebrate the holidays with us! We have events coming up to suit traditional carollers as well as dance-till-dawn types.

First up is the Christmas Boat Party, on Thursday 2 December, a fun night cruising the Thames with a DJ and silent auction. The boat sets off from Westminster Pier at 7.15 pm and returns at 11 pm. Tickets are £30, which includes a buffet and welcome drinks. Please email Jordan Trimby for tickets or more information.

That's followed by our annual Christmas Carol concert the following Thursday, 9 December, at St Michael's Church, Chester Square, London SW1W 9HH. This will be a festive evening of Christmas readings and carols, featuring the Tabard Singers and a new Independent Age vocal ensemble, followed by mince pies and wine. Please contact Harriet Steele for tickets or to find out more.

We hope to see you at either event, or both.

Susanne O'Leary reading in Co. Carlow, Ireland

Bestselling author Susanne O'Leary will read from and sign copies of her latest novel, Swedish for Beginners, at historic Huntington Castle, Clonegal, Co. Carlow, Ireland, on 28 September at 5pm.

There will also be a wine talk and tasting events by Tindal Wines. Tickets are €15 at the door and proceeds go to benefit Independent Age.

Email Frances Galloway for more information, or to purchase tickets.

Volunteers Wanted for the Summer Pop Picnic Party, Bedfordshire, 22 August

We're offering free entry to the show and a backstage pass for volunteers who will help us with a bucket collection at the Summer Pop Picnic Party in Shuttleworth, Bedfordshire on Sunday 22 August.

photo by Phil Guest from Wikimedia Commons

On the bill are X-Factor winners Diversity, ASWAD, and Jason Donovan (above, although admittedly looking more literary than rock'n'roll) as well as many others. For the full lineup and more details, click here. If you have an hour to spare mid-afternoon, email Harriet Steele and come along!

Art for Independent Age's sake

An Art and Sculpture Exhibition was held at Glemham Hall, Suffolk on 31st July / 1st August. The weather stayed fine and Rosemary Buisseret and one of her volunteers (and artist) Vanessa Stollery worked very hard coordinating the artwork, teas and stalls. Money is still being counted, but so far almost £2,000 has been raised for Independent Age. Here are some of the works that were on show:

Yew Trees by Elaine Alderson

Guinness by Vanessa Stollery

Beach Huts by Christopher Humphries

Thanks to everyone who made this day such a success, and to all of the artists who took part. You can see a list of all who participated here.

Cumbria Garden Open raises over £2800 for Independent Age

Above, L to R: Sandra Tate, Area Manager Kay White, and David Tate

The gardens of Garth House in Brampton, Cumbria were opened by kind permission of Sandra and David Tate MBE, on Sunday 20 June in aid of Independent Age.

Over 400 people visited the outstanding gardens surrounding the beautiful late-Georgian red sandstone house, experiencing firsthand the dazzling array of different styles, including a sunken formal garden, a woodland walk, a wildlife pond, a Japanese garden and even a Zen garden. Independent Age volunteers were at hand to offer tea and refreshments.

Above, L to R: Valerie Johnson, Margaret Sutcliffe, Kay White, Penny Kretzschmar, Jill Faux, and Jean Garnett

Kay White, Independent Age Area Manager for the North East and Cumbria and organiser of the event, said: "The garden has a reputation in the region, so people came from all over Cumbria to see it. The setting was absolutely idyllic and we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day. I am thrilled that the event helped to raise so much for Independent Age and we are extremely grateful to our hosts and to everyone who worked so hard to make the day go so smoothly.

"Home again in one piece, no injuries, and yes, I made it!"

Congratulations to Sally Hough of Tavistock, Devon, who successfully completed the challenge of cycling 1,100 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats in aid of Independent Age. "Just because you're a pensioner doesn't mean life stops," said Sally of her challenge. "I love being outdoors. There are so many rules in other sports that you have to abide by, but with cycling you can just be free." Sally's cycle resulted in her covering a total of 1087.6 miles in 90.25 hours, over 16 days.

"My favourite day was cycling through the Yorkshire Dales into Cumbria with a particularly challenging climb via Dent Station and stunning scenery," says Sally, who raised over £500 for Independent Age. "One thing is for sure," she continues,"I shall keep cycling, even though the hills round here are frequent and steep."

Beneficiary-Organised Coffee Morning, Brampton,Cumbria

On May 15, a group of our beneficiaries in Cumbria held their annual coffee morning fundraiser, which is always a lot of fun for all who participate. Mary Glover, one of the event's organisers, wrote this report of the event for the local paper:

"We had smiles and laughter all the way for our annual coffee morning on Saturday. Our volunteers gave their support as always. Doris Watson (pictured far right, next to Area Manager Kay White) served refreshments while Sandy MacCrea-Stewart (pictured second from left) sold almost everything on her white elephant stall.

"On Mary Glover's (pictured third from left) stall there was a range of homemade cakes, jams and chutneys, plus a double chocolate torte made by Sandy. Elizabeth Pender organised the raffle prizes which numbered more than 20 and included luxury toiletries, chocolates and biscuits, stationery and wines.

"£177.72 was raised for Independent Age, and thanks go to all who assisted and gave their time and efforts, and to our many visitors."

Sponsor Sally Hough's Land's End to John O'Groats Cycle Ride - 8-23 May 2010

Sally will be cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats and is raising money for Independent Age.

Last year she cycled Ireland end to end to celebrate her birthday (a significant one!) and this year she has a new challenge. She will be cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats via the scenic route which will be about 1100 miles, safer than major roads but possibly hillier! She will also be taking seven ferries as she will be cycling via the Western Isles of Scotland.

This trip is entirely self funded, therefore all the money donated will go to Independent Age. To donate and support Sally's cycle ride, go to: http://www.justgiving.com/Sally-Hough .

Congratulations to our London Marathon runners

Here are Moira and Michael Penney, wearing their medals-and huge grins-after completing the Virgin London Marathon for Independent Age last Sunday.

We had 9 runners in the London Marathon yesterday and so far between them they have raised over £11,000 with more money coming in!

A big thank you to Philip, Karen, Diana, Eileen and Amanda from Independent Age for coming out to cheer our runners on! The marathon is a real highlight of the fundraising year and their support was greatly appreciated by the runners.

Here are their times:

Kevin Sharkey - 3hrs 36mins
Abby Cockerton - 4hrs 50mins
Bill Maloney - 4hrs 15mins
Pam Gray - 5hrs 28mins
Russell Ings - 4hrs 9mins
Andrew Mark - 4hrs 55mins
Thomas Phillips - 3hrs 51mins
Moira Penney - 5hrs 8mins
Michael Penney - 4hrs 22mins

If you would like to run in a marathon, or take part in another sporting challenge for us, please check our website for details of upcoming events or email Harriet Steele to find out more.

Cheer on our marathon runners this Sunday!

Just to remind you that it is the London Marathon this Sunday 23^rd April. We have 10 runners taking part this year and it would be great if you have some time to come down and show your support. The marathon is always a fun event – so if you can, please join us!

We will be setting up a cheering point on Byward Street near to Tower Hill tube station (Circle / District Line). See links below for map and transport information. The cheer point is near the 23 mile mark and we will expect our runners through from about 12pm – 2pm. There should be someone at the cheer point from 9am to get a good position so feel free to come early to watch the elite runners.

Email harriet.steele@independentage.org.uk if you would like to come along.

Place available for Virgin London Marathon, 25 April

We have a last minute golden bond place available for the 2010 Virgin London Marathon on 25 April. If you would like to run for us, we ask runners for a deposit of £100 and to pledge to raise at least £1000 for Independent Age.

To apply for this place, please contact Harriet Steele before 21 January on 020 7605 4288, or email events@independentage.org.uk.

You can find out more about the Virgin London Marathon at their official website:
http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com

Independent Age runners triumph in Newcastle's great north run

Congratulations to Estelle Jackson (left) and Naomi White for completing the BUPA Great North Run on behalf of Independent Age. Estelle is a friend of North East and Cumbria Area Manager Kay White and Naomi is Kay’s daughter. For both, this half marathon was quite an undertaking, as neither has run competitively in such an event before.

Estelle took to her training with enthusiasm and dedication. Juggling the roles of wife and mother with her work in HR for the Home Group in Newcastle, she worked tirelessly in her sponsorship collection and received support from work colleagues, friends and family in the North East, The Midlands and London.

Naomi’s training followed a different pattern, slotting in between studies and exams. Naomi is a student at Dame Allan’s School's Sixth Form in Newcastle. She ran in memory of her grandpa Max Thomas who died in August. Max was a volunteer for Independent Age in the South West at the age of 82!

20^th September, race day, was beautiful and sunny. Rock star Sting fired the gun to start the race and the sea of competitors began their toil to South Shields. It was a day full of emotion, particularly at the finish where the months of training and that great sense of achievement hit home.

“I am so proud of them both, what a true achievement”, said Kay White.

Estelle & Naomi raised a tremendous £515 for Independent Age – well done and a big thank you.

It's a bird...it's a plane...it's Maggie, the 90-year-old skydiver!

by Simon Bottery, Director of Fundraising, Policy and Communications

I drove up to Northants on Sunday to witness the remarkable Maggie White leap out of a plane at 12000 feet to celebrate her 90th birthday (and raise money for Independent Age and another charity).

She was inspired to do it, said her relatives, because a friend in her 70s had done it. That's the thing about older people, easily influenced... Thank you Maggie.

You can read more about Maggie's skydive from the Hereford Times.

Cheer on our runners in the Royal Parks Half Marathon

This Sunday, October 11, is time for the Brakes Royal Parks Half Marathon. The race starts at 9:30 am in Hyde Park and should take 2-3 hours to complete.

We have seven runners in the race this year, who are all training hard and raising money for Independent Age. Six of them have sponsorship pages on justgiving.com; to sponsor them, click on their names: Julie Alderson, Bernard Bailey, Dawn Sonnemann, Michelle Tierney, Gemma Cook and Sug Sahadevan. Email Harriet Steele if you would like to come along and cheer them on.

Let's hope the weather will be nice, and good luck to all of our runners.

How The Clash are helping are helping raise money for older people

by Simon Bottery, Director of Policy and Communications for Independent Age

Clash lead singer Joe Strummer may have died young but he is helping me complete a sponsored ‘virtual’ bike ride to Paris to raise money for Independent Age. The deal is that all five members of the management team here take turns on an exercise bike to clock up the 213 miles needed to get us to Paris. That means around 10 miles a day each. For those of us not used to cycling (that’s me) this is fairly hard work but I have discovered that the best way of putting in the miles is to listen to something stimulating on an iPod. I’ve experimented with various types of music and can exclusively reveal that loud and fast music from the late 70s and early 80s is easily the best to cycle to. I may however switch over as we get closer to our destination. Somewhere on my iPod I have a compilation of French songs from the 40s and 50s so I will give up punk for Piaf as I ‘reach’ the outskirts of Paris at the end of the week. You can support me at www.justgiving.com/simon-bottery

Changing your search engine can raise money for Independent Age

We are now registered with Everyclick. This is a website that has a search engine (similar to Google) and other features. Whenever anyone uses the search or other features (if they are registered with the site) their chosen charity will receive money for every click. It is a really easy way for us to raise money! In fact we have already made £173.25.

It only takes a minute to register and earn us money, follow the link below, click on start fundraising and enter your details. You can then set the Everyclick page as a homepage or add the search item to your tool bar.

http://www.everyclick.com/independentage

All you need to do then is to use the site regularly and the money should come pouring in!

New Christmas Cards at our Online Shop

Our online shop is now up and running. We can now accept credit and debit card payments by PayPal, which ensures that your transactions are secure. If you would like to buy charity Christmas cards in support of Independent Age, or a copy of the Thrifty Kitchen cookbook (below), click here.

We have several new designs for our charity Christmas cards this year, including two that feature art by some of our talented beneficiaries, including the image above, Church In Snow, by Stephen Collett. Keep checking in, because over the next few weeks we will be adding some more items that we have selected to complement the Thrifty Kitchen cookbook. All proceeds will go to benefit Independent Age.

The Thrifty Kitchen: Wartime Lessons for the Modern Cook

Independent Age presents a new cookbook full of recipes, which show that you can successfully apply the principles of wartime cookery to create dishes that will delight the modern palate. The book features recipes from Independent Age beneficiaries, volunteers, supporters, friends and a selection of celebrity chefs including Peter Gordon, Delia Smith, Darina Allen, Mark Hix and many more.

To order the book, phone +44 (0) 20 7605 4200 or email thrifty.kitchen@independentage.org.uk.