In May 2024 Laurie’s fund received a wonderful donation of £900 from Sylvia Jenkins-Bigglestone.
Sylvia is the daughter of Richard Jenkins, the Herefordshire photographer (a reluctant farmer) who was the subject of Hilary’s book, Golden Valley Faces. She enabled Hilary to write the book, by sharing her fond memories of her father, and her own childhood on their farm.
Sylvia was a lifelong community nurse, and is still incredibly sociable. This year she celebrated her 90th birthday, and at her Open House (with eighty guests) she asked everyone not to give her presents, but to make donations to Laurie’s fund.
Another £100 was raised in October from the sale of books and prints when Hilary gave a talk about Richard Jenkins to Longtown Historical Society.
The Teenage Cancer Trust book club that we started supporting last year, run by Cathy, the Youth Support Coordinator at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, has gone from strength to strength. It has been given a new name: Next Chapter.
Among the books that the young people – all receiving treatment for cancer – have been reading and discussing in 2024 are Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough, a thriller which has been made into a TV series, and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, also adapted for TV. Book club members are now spread widely around the UK.
Four times a year the group chooses titles from Cathy’s short list, and she arranges to buy and distribute copies for everyone so that they can read the books at home and then talk about them in online meetings.
This year the club received an impressive accolade: a Reading for Pleasure Award, part of a scheme run by the publishers Harper Collins, with a prize of £250 for spending on books.
In March Matthew held one of his regular community quizzes, specifically in aid of the book club, and more than £1000 was raised.
Fair Oak Cider raised £500 for Laurie’s fund with collections at the National Mills Weekend in May – when we opened our cider mill to the public; at Llanthony and Longtown Shows in August; and at the annual Open Weekend in the mill in October (where our young Gypsy Cob, Featherstone, made his debut).
