Fancy dress fun raises £500 on 10th anniversary of dad’s death
A FANCY dress run commemorated the ten-year anniversary of the death of a globetrotter and Huncoat pub landlord.
Personal fitness trainer Martin Garnett and his wife Jane Rojas-Tregartha staged a 7km run through Accrington and Huncoat in memory of Martin’s father, Mike Garnett, who ran the White Lion pub in Huncoat during the mid-1990s, and tragically passed away aged just 48 in Vietnam in 2006.
More than 40 people donned fancy dress to take part in the run, which started at the Peel Park Hotel, and passed the site of the former White Lion pub in Huncoat on Saturday, May 14.
A collection on the day also managed to raise £500 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Jane, 32, said: “Martin just said, let’s do something big in memory of my dad, so he put a post on Facebook about the run and 45 people all turned up on the day in full fancy dress.
“It was nice to see all sorts of people getting involved. Some were family and friends, some were people that we didn’t know. They all very kindly and generously donated and helped a wonderful organisation which was the RNLI, the lifeboat team who rescue so many lives at sea.”
On the anniversary of Mike’s death, Jane and Martin travelled to Anglesey where, together with his sister Rebecca, they donated the money to the RNLI in person.
Jane said that the lifeboat organisation was thrilled to receive the donation.
She said: “They were over the moon to say the least and it’s these efforts that make their work possible so a great big thank you goes out to you all that supported Martin and donated so generously. I am so very proud of my husband and all my love goes out to him and all his passion, drive and selfless achievement in wonderfully honouring his father, friend, legend Michael Garnett who will forever be in our hearts.”
Mike Garnett, an engineer, had moved to Vietnam after falling in love with it on a roundthe-world trip but tragically died of a brain haemorrhage within two months of moving.