MID-DECEMBER 2017
Bagworth Forward Group
Christmas is coming ... in Bagworth
Hannah Shepherd’s Everest trek for charity
THE BAGWORTH Forward Group (BFG) branched out this year and organised A Christmas Fayre in the Community Centre on Saturday 25th November. This proved to be a great success and £660 was raised which will be used to enhance the village, especially by helping to provide flowers twice a year in the many planters. (We were very grateful to the person at the Fayre who went out of her way to tell us, as a newcomer to the village, how the presence of the flowers really added to the look of the village.) BFG is especially grateful to Karen who had helped to organise the stalls for the Fayre. We had planned to have Christmas entertainment in the Rear Hall, but this was not to be and so we had stalls in both halls. We are also grateful to people who are not part of BFG but go out of their way to help us. Mrs Dot Martin organised the children’s raffle in a very successful way. She can be guaranteed to have a positive effect on any events lke this. Debbie and her husband and grandchildren ran the ‘adopt an animal’ stall which proved to be very popular. This could be seen by the number of people walking around clutching soft toys. They were not all children! Debbie also organises and runs the prize bingo sessions for BFG (and also the monthly Trust sessions). We are very grateful to her for doing this. She always buys prizes that she, herself, would like to win. This is the reason why chocolate figures highly in the prizes! The Christmas bingo on the Monday after the Fayre was also a great success. We are also very grateful to Louise Dowell, wife of our newest Trustee, who prepared the hot turkey and stuffing rolls which were very popular at the Fayre. These, along with the mulled wine and warm mince pies, made it a real festive treat. As usual Trust members ran the refreshments for the BFG event. On the strength of the Christmas Fayre, BFG are planning to repeat it next year and also organise a Spring Fayre on 24th March. Keep a look out for details. We will also, of course, be doing the annual Bagworth Show on the bank holiday Saturday of August. This has become an annual tradition in the village. I believe that there are still one or two villagers who have yet to attend this event. When you are making your New Year resolutions, you ought to make attending the Show one of them. Finally may we wish a happy and peaceful Christmas and a good New Year to all of those people who help to make our events a success.
HANNAH SHEPHERD, who is originally from Thornton and a former student of South Charnwood High School, has trekked to Everest Base Camp in aid of the charity AKU Society. Hannah now lives in Liverpool and is an associate lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University. Since 2015 she has been the gait analyst for the National Alkaptonuria Centre, she is part of a team trying to combat Alkaptonuria by advancements in treatments & relieving symptoms through clinical testing. If you’ve never heard of Alkaptonuria, it’s a rare genetic disease which effects one in every 250,000 people. Every AKU patient will experience joint pain, early onset of osteoarthritis and ultimately a decline in mobility. Earlier this year Hannah decided in return for all the painful steps taken in her lab by her patients in the last two years she would return that favour by climbing to Everest Base Camp. So on the 17th November, after months of training and gruelling sessions in an altitude lab Hannah & her friend Steven flew out to Kathmandu, where they boarded a small plane & flew into the notoriously dangerous Lakla Airport to begin their trek. After a 12 day journey they finally reached Everest Base Camp. It took them through the shadows of the worlds biggest mountains, sleeping in -20 & trekking in -14. Hannah got the early on set of frost bite on her fingers & two members of the group were helicoptered off the mountain suffering from altitude sickness. Upon reaching Base Camp Hannah said “As well as an unforgettable experience, I’ve also managed to raise money for a group of patients that inspire me & my research” Hannah set a target of £500 she has currently raised £845! For more information on Hannah’s story and the AKU Society visit https://www. justgiving.com/fundraising/h-shepherd1
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone! Thanks to all our readers, contributors, advertisers, printers and deliverers. Without your help, there would be no Herald! And that would be awful! To contact The Herald, telephone 01530 244069 or email: info@markfieldherald.co.uk