After a fairly quiet summer, we are pleased to say that there is plenty coming up to fill your diary and support The Rosemary Foundation, during the rest of August into September and beyond. Find out more by reading this bumper edition of our ‘What’s On’ updates.
Starting in August, there is a Quiz Night at Petersfield Social Club.
We then move into September with Charity Speed Golf at the Petersfield South (formerly Petersfield Pay and Play) Golf Course.
If you don’t play golf and still enjoy spending time in the fresh air meeting people, we are looking for volunteers to help with marshalling on Sunday the 8th, or setting up on the 7th. If you would like to help on either day please let Jeremy know at The Rosemary Foundation (info@rfpetersfield.org) or phone 01730 266329.
Those interested in participating or sponsoring the event are asked to contact the event organiser please, Robin Hollington on 07973 429826, emailrobin@number300.com or visit the websitehttps://charityspeedgolf.com
Also in September
Melodrama at West Meon
After not just one, but two leading actors pulled out of a performance at the West Meon Music Festival, to be held from 13th to 15th September, the Primrose Piano Quartet, which founded the festival back in 2011, have revamped the event’s Saturday evening concert to avoid any further upheavals.
In March actor Simon Callow agreed to be narrator in a performance of Richard Strauss’s incidental music to Tennyson’s poem, “Enoch Arden”. He had previously performed the work with the Primrose’s pianist, John Thwaites, who was much looking forward to revisiting the piece. Simon added a proviso that he could not confirm for a couple of months to ensure he would be available for the festival.
By early May Simon Callow had committed to spending September directing a film in Vienna, but the quartet was delighted when actor Peter Bowles agreed to take over and confirmed his availability. In late June, he too cancelled for unspecified reasons.
“It was extremely frustrating,” says festival director, the Primrose’s cellist, Andrew Fuller, “as we already had publicised the event and taken many bookings. As Simon Callow put it; ’Pinning actors down for one-off performances is the very devil’ – but as musicians, one-off performances are what we do most of the time! Rather than be disappointed by yet another celebrity actor pulling out, we decided to cut our losses and change the programme.”
“Enoch Arden” is being replaced by Elgar’s “Piano Quintet” – a work in keeping with the concert’s theme of “music and melodrama” as it was inspired by stories of ghostly happenings at Brinkwells, the Sussex house where Elgar was living when he wrote the piece in 1918. The first half of the programme is unchanged, thanks to actor Nicholas Jones – most recently seen in The Crownand The Worst Witch – who lives in West Meon and is a regular festival attendee.
Ticket prices for the festival are from £12 to £22 with generous discounts for students, accompanied children and festival passes. Full details can be found atwww.westmeonmusic.co.uk.
To round September off for now, the Three Peaks Challenge is being undertaken in September by one of our Supporters
Georgina Pratt is doing “an epic challenge for an epic charity” when she takes part in the National Three Peaks Challenge from September 20-21 which involves taking on Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours. She will be trekking for around 18 hours during the challenge, covering over 28 miles of undulating terrain.
Georgina is raising funds in memory of her father Leslie Pratt and if you would like to sponsor her please go to her Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/georgina-pratt
And now for advance news of a couple of events that are taking place in October.
If you enjoy quizzes, please save Saturday, October 19thfor The Rosemary Foundation’s Annual Quiz Night at East Meon Village Hall.
Gilbert and Sullivan fans will want to keep free Sunday October 27th at 3pm to join Opera Comique’s Gilbert & Sullivan Sing-In at Petersfield Methodist Church, when there will be choruses to join in from HMS Pinafore, Iolanthe and the Mikado.
Further details of these two events and others in October and November will follow in due course.
Some news from, and about, our Supporters in Emsworth
Firstly, a big thank you to the Friends of Emsworth Community Health
We were surprised and delighted to receive a cheque for £2,000 from Duncan Cameron on behalf of the Friends of Emsworth Community Health at the beginning of August, as a contribution towards our running costs. Duncan is seen here presenting the cheque to Claire Dunn (Clinical Manager) and Maddy Moll-Horrach (a newly appointed Health Care Support Worker who we have been delighted to welcome to our team).
The Friends of Emsworth Community Health (FECH) is a registered charity with a local membership and managed by its trustees. It supports organisations that provide services that benefit the health and wellbeing of people in Emsworth by providing funds, and by other means. In the last year they made grants of over £22,000 to 20 local health related organisations and The Rosemary Foundation is grateful to be one of the beneficiaries.
FECH is involved in the discussions to redevelop the hospital site to provide a new surgery, and to make community health services available to the people of Emsworth. If you would like to know more about community health services in Emsworth, a Health and Wellbeing Fair (organised by FECH) is being held in Emsworth Baptist Church on Tuesday 8 October between 11 am and 3 pm. The Rosemary Foundation will be there and further details are available on https://friendsofemsworthcommunityhealth.co.uk/event-item/emsworth-health-and-wellbeing-fair-2019:1/.
FECH also owns and maintains the Hospital garden in Emsworth as a public amenity.
Alistair Gibson challenges the Sahara
Emsworth resident Alistair Gibson, who has been fundraising for The Rosemary Foundation for several years now has just written to us:
Hi
Well here we go again, a couple of years ago a small group of us walked around the Isle of Wight (all 66 miles of it!) in 24 hours raising money for the wonderful folk at The Rosemary Foundation. I remember thinking at the time as I gazed at my blistered feet – never again! However the time has come once more to lace up our walking boots and support The Rosemary Foundation but this time, we are leaving this green and pleasant land for something altogether a little warmer and more challenging – 2 Marathons in 2 days, across the Sahara Desert.
We are flying off to Morocco on 10th October and then after an 8 hour transfer into the desert, we are setting out on our epic adventure on 11th October. The UNESCO World Heritage Draa Valley provides the dramatic backdrop for the Challenge, we’ll be walking, maybe even running across baked rocky trails, through Moroccan villages and palmeries, down to the dunes of the desert. It will be tough, it will be hot and probably more than a little uncomfortable but it really is for a great cause.
If you would like to support us and help us raise funds for The Rosemary Foundation – an amazing organisation who provide care as a ‘Hospice at Home’ and who cared for Becky so wonderfully in her last few months – then please use the link below AND if you can please also forward onto to your family and friends who may help us, help them, that would be fantastic.
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AlistairGibson4
My grateful thanks to Louise, Adrian, Jeremy and Patrick for their company on this challenge, I couldn’t do it without you guys.
Thanks so much for reading this far and hopefully supporting us.”
This is a wonderful gesture by Alistair and please follow the link above if you would like to support him.
Finally, a reminder about our Autumn Newsletter
As many of you know, twice a year The Rosemary Foundation publishes a newsletter in both paper and electronic formats.
This year’s Autumn edition should be ready in late September / early October and to ensure you receive a copy please subscribe by following this link and completing the registration form – https://www.rosemary-foundation.org.uk/newsletter/subscribe-newsletter/.
In subscribing you may be reassured that we do not share information with any third parties, other than to distribute the newsletter, and you may unsubscribe at any time by emailing info@rfpetersfield.org or following the link at the foot of this enewsletter.
