The Charities which we Support

Every year, we do a couple of concerts for charity and have been pleased to make contributions to many charities over the years. For the past few years, we have supported the Barnet branch of the Alzheimers Society and, at the Christmas 2006 concert, we raised about £1000 for their general activities.

The Pattipulam School Project

Update..An Amazing £1,767 More Raised >>

During 2006, we also dedicated a concert to a smaller charity which is based in Pattipulam, south India and carried out some other fund raising for them.

This project is organised by a very small Indian Charitable Trust - the Rural Multipurpose Development Trust - and is devoted to to the improvement of education and health in the area around the village of Pattipulam, South India. It runs three schools in the area for children who would, otherwise, have no education. Classes are held in the evening from 6.00 to 8.00 pm so that children may attend after work and most of the children are aged under ten.

A Class in Progress at Pattipulam School

The area covered by the Trust is very close to the that hit by the hurricane in December 2004 and it was able to help the victims of this by diverting its own funds to relief activities. This diverted funds away from their original aim of providing educational and health resources for their local children but shows how local agencies are willing to adapt to meet immediate need in their area.

During the year we raised about £400 in total, to help with an extension to their school. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for the extension which they need, so we have set out to raise some more to finish off the job.

Where Our Money Went

We were very lucky as the school used our money to build part of the extension - a first floor classroom - so we can see were it went. It built the stairs up the side of the building and the extension walls up to roof level. They now need the roof and windows and we hope that we can help.

The original project to help this school was Sue's idea, following a visit there in 2006. recently, a friend of her's visited the school and sent back some photos and a video of the work which they've done. To see these, CLICK HERE. The video is at the end and might take a bit of time to load so you'll need a smidgen of patience!

Climb Ev'ry Mountain?

Sue (bass clarinet), from the band, set off for Kilimanjaro in mid February on a sponsored hill(?) climb. Many of her firiends kindly sponsored her on this and here is her account of the trip.

Day 3 - On the Way Up

On the way up, by day 3, everything was fine, it was a really good walk. There was not much vegetation and it was pretty hot.  The following day we walked for around 5 hours but the altitude made the going very tough even though the path itself wasn't very steep.  The final camp is called Kibo Camp, at a height of 4,700m.  We arrived there around 1.30pm,  I was really exhausted and Ian was struggling with the altitude.  We did manage to have our photos taken at the sign at Kibo - photo below.  After something to eat, every one went to sleep. The plan was to get up at 10.30pm and start the final walk to the crater rim at around 11.30pm to get there, Gilmans Point, in time for sunrise at 6.30am. The summit was a further hour and a half walk  beyond there. 

The Dynamic Duo at Kibo Hut

Ian had already decided that he was not well enough to attempt the last stage and I decided  as I woke up at 10.30 that I really didn't have the reserves of energy to try either. Ian got up and gave all my chocolate to the other members of the group and  I went back to sleep. I slept solidly for 12 hours, on rocky ground so I must have been really tired.  When I got up I discovered that of the 10 members of the group who had set out for Gilmans Point that night, 5 had turned back and were asleep, recovering. Later we found out that of the 5 who reached Gilman's Point, only 2 had managed to go on to that actually reach the summit at 5,896m.  So I don't feel too disappointed. The walk was great, especially coming down when I had the energy to appreciate the scenery. 

It was a pretty difficult decision not to try but I  knew that I didn't have the energy to get even half way. Despite not reaching the summit, an amazing number of friends, colleagues, and people I don't even know have sponsored me. So far I have collected a total of £1,767. I am truly amazed at the generosity  that this project has inspired!  Many thanks to every one who sponsored me.