LOCAL PEOPLE
Lady Victoria Leatham … on how an army of angels are helping with a new fund-raising event for Peterborough’s Thorpe Hall Hospice
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HIS December, visitors to Thorpe Hall Hospice in Peterborough will be welcomed by brilliantly-lit wicker angels, representing the hard work of its nurses and heralding the start of the Angel Christmas Fair, a new fund-raising event founded by Lady Victoria Leatham of Burghley House fame. The two-day Fair will be held at Thorpe Hall on 3 and 4 December, with more than 50 stalls already confirmed and all proceeds going to Sue Ryder, which provides palliative care at the centre. Lady Victoria’s involvement with Thorpe Hall goes back a long way. “When Sue Ryder first took over the building, she asked me what was I going to do for her hospice... you didn’t fail to act when she asked something of you,” she explained. “I began in a small way to be involved, particularly with the marvellous ladies’ lunch club which makes regular donations to help maintain the work. Also, as in all families, we have an ongoing exposure to those suffering with cancer, and having worked as a patient’s radio requests co-ordinator at the Marsden when I was 18 and living in London, it seemed natural to try to help with the work at Thorpe Hall.” A retail background and the knowledge that a previously successful Christmas Fair at Irnham Hall near Grantham was no more gave Lady Victoria her inspiration for the Thorpe Hall event. She explained: “By nature a ‘seller’, I coowned a small knitwear and artisan wool business for five years in Northumberland, then when we moved south and I took over the running of Burghley House I started an interiors and decorative catalogue called Ancestral Collections where we sold replicas of antiques. This was influenced by the 25 years I spent working with Sotheby’s in London, Cambridge
“Every penny earned will go to Sue Ryder – they have just lost a large proportion of their funding from the local health authorities for their Hospice At Home Hospice service and they are in great need right now.” and Stamford. I sold our items at the NEC and in America and I know a lot about the way the amazing retail buyers influence the way in which we live – the colours of a myriad objects and fabrics on show at Birmingham in February will arrive in our shops by March and last through the year! “The realisation that the long-running event at Irnham Hall had ceased left a gap in the market for another similar offering for discerning shoppers.
“The goal of the fair is simple: we want to create an opportunity to buy and sell which will result in as much money as possible coming to the hospice to help fund exceptional care for those nearing the end of their lives. Every penny earned will go to Sue Ryder – they have just lost a large proportion of their funding from the local health authorities for their Hospice At Home Hospice service and they are in great need right now.” The running of the fair involves a tight core of Lady Victoria’s own ‘angels’… ladies with specialist skills such as management of retailers, catering, publicity and media, plus logistics such as car parking and liaison with Thorpe Hall… “and the help of countless volunteers to help the stallholders have a good time – if they don’t, we will not have a happy fair!” she explained. Business prowess and her legendary charm – which is, perhaps, not so unlike that of the late Lady Ryder! – have helped Lady Victoria pull everything together thus far, and now she’s focusing her powers of persuasion on gaining further financial support. She explained: “I saw these superb six foot wickerwork angels at the Birmingham Spring Fair and they are now for sale to sponsors! We are placing them, lit, on either side of the drive up to Thorpe Hall for the duration of the fair, with the sponsors’ names prominently displayed for everybody to see when arriving and leaving. After the fair, sponsors can take their angels away to use as a Christmas decoration, or donate them to their church or child’s school.” Lady Victoria said: “This is becoming a proper community event. It is a chance not just for Peterborough people and those from surrounding counties to show support for our fantastic local hospice, but also to have fun and enjoy some unbeatable shopping in aid of a great cause.”
SPONSOR AN ANGEL Local businesses which sponsor the wicker angels will be invited to a Champagne Reception on 2 December from 6pm so they can see their name in lights alongside their sponsored angel. After the event, they’ll be able to move the angels to a location of their choice for promotional or personal use. The event has already gained support from lead sponsors Remark, Peterborough City Council, Waitrose, John Lewis and sponsors of the first angel, The George Hotel in Stamford. Additional tickets to the Champagne Reception – where you will be able to sip on Champagne donated by Hambleton Hall and sample food made by talented chef Bevan Fleming from Ludlow – will also be available at £25 per person and are open to anyone who would like a preview of the crafts, foods and gifts on offer. The fair will then open to everyone on 3 and 4 December from 10am-4pm. Entry costs £5 per person. • For more information, to sponsor an angel or to buy tickets to the Champagne Reception, email victoria. leatham@me.com before 1 December. STAMFORD LIVING NOVEMBER 2016
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