News

If you’re taking your training for the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon up a notch this January, you’re not alone!

Former Somerset County Cricket Club chairman, Andy Nash will be among many running their first ever marathon on Sunday, April 28 – and he returned to the County Ground in Taunton yesterday (Wednesday) to train with members of the Somerset first team.

Andy, who is hoping to raise £26,000 (£1,000 a mile) for Children’s Hospice South West, received some expert advice from Somerset CCC’s Head of Strength & Conditioning, Joel Tratt and spent the morning training with Josh Davey, Eddie

Children’s Hospice South West’s Little Bridge House hospice has been chosen to receive a grant of £746 from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Devonshire Freemasons.

The grant comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF), and will be used to help provide respite care and support for the children and their families at the hospice in Fremington, North Devon.

This is just one of 237 grants to hospices around the country from Freemasons. In total £600,000 will be donated to hospices all over England and Wales this year.

Contributions from Freemasons to hospices have exceeded £13million

Award-winning Masterchef Peter Gorton will add a touch of Michelin Star quality to the Falcon Hotel in Bude this winter.

The top West Country chef will be working with the hotel’s head chef Aaron Vanstone to create special two- and three-course menus for a series of charity ‘lunch and learn’ events taking place at the waterfront hotel.

Every Wednesday from January 16 until March 20, diners will be able to sample dishes inspired by Peter, who was the chef/proprietor of the Carved Angel restaurants and cafés in Exeter, Taunton and Dartmouth and The Horn of Plenty in Devon, before starting his

If you’re looking for a new challenge with real bite in 2019, registration for the ‘stunning and savage’ Croyde Ocean Triathlon is now open and entry places are selling fast.

The Olympic distance triathlon, named as one of 220 Triathlon magazine’s ‘top 21 must-do’ triathlons, returns on Sunday, July 14.

The Croyde Ocean Triathlon in association with the Pickwell Foundation features a 1.5km ocean swim along Putsborough beach, followed by a 38km road bike ride from Croyde to Middle Marwood, and a hilly 12km off-road run around Croyde, Baggy Point and Putsborough.

Back for its fifth year, it’s

A ukulele group is set to bring a little sunshine to Newquay this January with a special fundraising concert at a local beach.

The St Merryn Ukes will perform an exclusive charity gig at Lusty Glaze on Monday 28th January in aid of Children’s Hospice South West.

Set up by Dave Healy in April 2017, the St Merryn Ukes started out as just four friends meeting weekly to jam. They now have almost 50 regular members and perform all over the South West at charity festivals, village fêtes, private parties and more.

Mr Healy said, “I’ve been a musician for over 35 years

I wanted to create a group that

Kingswood Preparatory School in Bath chose Children’s Hospice South West as its charity of the year for 2017-2018 and took part in a variety of fundraising activities.

Earlier this year, teacher Luke Hopwood, took part in a 33-hour Thames Challenge - a 184-mile ultra-marathon over four days. He alone raised just shy of £900!

The result of all the school’s combined fundraising is a fantastic £6,669!

Emily Mitchard, Community Fundraiser at CHSW said, “We’d like to say a huge thank you to all of the staff and pupils at Kingswood preparatory school for their wonderful fundraising. It’s been a

Eight colleagues from the Sea Breeze shop at Pentewan Sands campsite took part in a charity skydive and have raised £5063.55 for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) while doing so.

The intrepid fundraisers took to the sky from Perranporth airfield with Cornwall Parachute Club on 25 th November and all completed the jump, with some now looking to repeat it in the future and others glad it is complete.

The team from Sea Breeze got friends, family and suppliers involved in raising sponsorship for the charity which runs the Little Harbour children’s hospice at Porthpean in St Austell which is

An innovative photographic project that started on the other side of the world has been bringing Christmas smiles to families staying at CHSW’s Little Bridge House and Charlton Farm hospices.

The Christmas Wish project started in 2016 as part of the heART Project, a collaboration between award-winning Australian photographer Karen Alsop and a group of volunteer photographers.

The project has quickly gained worldwide attention and digital artists and photographers from Barnstaple, Portishead and Bristol have joined forces to bring The Christmas Wish to the UK for the first time.

Barnstaple

Castle Veterinary Group based in Launceston recently took on an 18 mile sponsored walk to help raise money towards their Charity of the Year partnership with Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).

Castle Vets is one of the largest, independent vet practices in the south west, treating both pets and farm animals across north and east Cornwall and west Devon and the relationship with CHSW started back in the summer.

Following the launch of the partnership 30 colleagues from across the Veterinary practice decided to take on a sponsored walk from Wenford Bridge all the way to Padstow on 25 th

The former chairman of Somerset County Cricket Club is set to run the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon in aid of Children’s Hospice South West.

Andy Nash, who retired in January this year after 14 years at the Specsavers County Championship club – 10 of which he served as chairman – will join Sir Mo Farah and a cast of thousands of runners in the world-famous road race on Sunday, April 28.

He hopes to raise £26,000 – £1,000 a mile – for the charity, which provides hospice care for hundreds of children and their families all over the South West.

Andy, who is also a former director of the ECB