A St Albans bookclub have decided to take their friendship one step further; actually it will be a few thousand steps further!This bookclub have not just formed a great bond, but have taken steps to help those around them. Recently they did a public performance of the Haka warrior dance, at a farewell party, for a New Zealand member of their club. Now, they are about to undertake a 25 mile circular challenge, climbing the three highest peaks of Yorkshire. They aim to complete this within a 12 hour period. And is this for the sake of their health? No!
Stephen Barbour, bookclub member and organiser of the challenge explains,”‘We are raising money for a charity that supports people with a relatively unknown condition. Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the upper and lower motor neurons. Degeneration of the motor neurons leads to weakness and wasting of muscles, causing increasing loss of mobility to the limbs and difficulty with speech, swallowing and breathing. This is often a terminal disease affecting 2 people in 100,000.”
Stephen’s friend, Howard, is one of the unlucky two. Howard, a popular man in our St Albans community, is a terrific dad to three boys and husband to a supportive wife.
Stephen says “Life is just not fair, since his illness was diagnosed, he has continued to be very positive and do as much as he can with the boys and you will never hear him moan about his illness.”
Louise Coxon, communications manager at the Motor Neurone Disease Association, says:”We rely entirely on voluntary donations from the public to help support and care for people with MND and to fund ground-breaking research to find a cure for this cruel disease. We are committed to fighting MND and so we really value the passion and commitment of our supporters because every penny raised helps to make a real differance to the individuals and families affected by MND.”
The walk will take place on 4th September and the ‘boys’ would welcome your donations. Click on www.justgiving.com/Stephen-Barbour0 and follow instructions.
Information on MND is available on www.mndassociation.org
One day I curiously drove into Hixberry Lane (St Albans) to see where it led to!
A few buildings, polytunnels and vegetable rows later, I realised that I was at an establishment called Earthworks!
Later that year, at the St Albans Farmers’ Market, I spotted their colourful stall with artichokes, lettuce, cucumbers as well as herbs, pretty homecrafts and other interesting wooden ornaments.
I learned that Earthworks is a charity who trains those with learning difficulties and mental health problems. Its staff and trainees grow and make the produce at their 2 acres Hixberry Lane site; these are then sold at the local markets but can also be purchased at their base. If you read the history on Earthworks, you will see that it’s quite a special. place which is why I am spreading the word!
Note; Their Annual Fair is on Sunday 5th September 11am – 4pm.
The local elections are set for 6h May 2010, and the general election seems almost certain to be the same day.
With the much higher turnout for the latter, the result of the former could be surprising. There’ll be a whole load of people who don’t usually bother voting in local elections, who are handed a voting slip to do just that, because they’ve turned up to vote in the general election. Who knows whether these unexpected local election voters will simply mark the same box on both papers, or vote differently on each.
On top of that, around 5000 residents of St Albans district are not UK citizens, so they can’t vote in the general election. But they CAN vote in the local election. They could add to the possible result that the local election poll looks very different from the national one.
Hoping to persuade voters to give them at least one of their crosses on the big day, the Greens have launched a campaign video, fronted by St Peters ward candidate Simon Grover. You can see it on the link below.
Help make St Albans a better place
04 Feb, 2010. Posted by: Nigel
As you all doubtlessly know, there is a campaign, led by JamesHannaway of the Rex cinema in Berkhamstead. Here’s some useful info from James:
“So far in only three weeks since the bank account was opened you have paid in over £100,000. Still cheques only until we have card machines installed. Not long but more than a week. Cheques with full names addresses, emails and WHAT FOR to: The Alpha St Albans (address below). Watch allaboutstalbans.com for updates. A very big apology to those who have gone missing from our answering system. Please contact the Rex again therexberkhamsted@hotmail.co.uk.”
“If all fails before 15 February and the site is bought for development, all your money will be returned in full. Thanks to the extraordinary leap of faith from the one who sent a cheque for £25,000 with just the line: ‘Please acknowledge receipt’.”
Here’s what we’ve raised up to last week… 27 Jan
| Total |
ABL members |
Chairs |
Donations |
Investors |
| £104,580 |
£57,570 |
£18,030 |
£3,980 |
£25,000 |
Yes, due to popular demand, we’ve added a forum!! This open to the residents of and visitors to St. Albans, or for people that are just curious. So please have a look, post comments, start a thread and have fun!
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