Open Day Friday 11th July, 12:00 noon - 5:00pm
Meet the staff, tour the centre and grounds, try the activities. An open invitation to all the community. Bring your own picnic to eat on the centre lawns or next to the Monnow. Refreshments available. Instructor-led activities and self-guided activities suitable for all the family. There is no charge for this event although donations for the bursary fund would be welcome.
A separate event for businesses and other interested organisations will run in the morning, please contact us for more information.
Tough conditions for this year's Charity Event on Saturday 21st June
Saturday 21st June dawned damp and gloomy with cloud shrouding the hillside. Not the ideal conditions for the Darrens Dare challenge walk, Darrens Dash fell race and Beat the Banana fun run. A trial run above the Darrens at 8:00am revealed that visibility was down to 20 metres in places. As a result extra signs were placed, extra marshalls were hurriedly recruited and pre-event safety briefings were bolstered.......but the 'show' did go on!
Nine determined local ladies and 2 who'd travelled from North Wales were not going to be put off by the weather and had set off by 10:00am to tackle the inaugural challenge walk with great elan. Before they'd returned runners were arriving from near and far for the 3rd Darrens Dash running event. Despite the weather, 54 hardy souls took up the challenge and all succeeded in their quest. This year's fun run had an extra attraction - a running Banana! Twenty children turned out to beat the banana around the 1 and 2 km courses.
A great atmosphere prevailed and the bouncy castle, bran tub and BBQ proved very popular alongside the much talked about tea and cakes (courtesy of the ladies from Clodock Church). Some excellent raffle prizes tempted many to try their hand with some local success stories. Runners and walkers commented on the quality of the courses and the warmth of the welcome.
As runners staggered towards the finish line they were cheered on by a considerable crowd of locals, family and friends. Several local runners (of all ages) surpassed themselves and achieved very credible performance in both events. All the efforts of the runners / walkers, the stewards / marshalls and organising team were worthwhile, because the event succeeded in its aim of raising funds for the World Cancer Research Fund and Longtown OEC Bursary Fund. More than £900 was raised which will be split between the 2 charities.
The event could not have taken place without generous donations in cash and kind from the following sponsors:
Community Times
Northamptonshire County Council
Mr and Mrs Price
Black Mountain Mineral Water Company
Sunnybank Wines
Beeline Printing
Clodock Church
Hopes of Longtown
Country Tastes Ltd
CleanMy Ltd
Waitrose
Mills Whitcombe Wine Ltd
D.C. Smith Garage
Up and Under
Longtown School
Rowlestone Farm Ice-cream
The Crown
G P Haines Ltd
Steve Maddox Ltd
The Forge Garage
A big thank you too to all the marshalls, stewards and volunteers who gave their time to help us run another successful event.
The date for next year will be Saturday 21st June 2009.
Mike Fawcett
Head of Centre
Longtown O.E.C
