Kentish Express Ashford & District
Golf club’s music goes with a swing
An evening of music in aid of the Pilgrims Hospice was held at Great Chart Golf and Leisure last weekend.
The club provided the venue for free and donated the bar profits.
More than £3,500 was raised on the night.
The musical acts were all from the area and the evening began with Kelly Bourne, followed by Stella ‘n the Loft and Mustang.
All the performers played for free to a crowd of more than 200.
Trevor Bourne, one of the organisers and the drummer in the band Mustang said: “This was our third year of arranging a charity music evening and all of them have been held at Great Chart Golf and Leisure.
“The first year was for Cancer Research UK and the second year was for Breast Cancer Care, both of which are national charities, so this year we wanted to do something for a more locally based charity, hence selecting the Pilgrims Hospice in Ashford.” A brain injury survivor has named a new variety of rose in honour of the charity that has helped his recovery.
Reg Singleton, 71, a member of Headway East Kent’s Ashford branch, sustained a traumatic injury in 2008 when he fell on the beach and hit his head.
With the support from the charity, the father-of-two had to relearn his most basic skills from scratch including walking, talking and eating.
He said: “The hidden and physical effects of brain injury changed me from an independent person who enjoyed talking to others into someone who couldn’t read, feed myself or walk without help in the early days of recovery.”
In June 2015, the Amateur Rose Breeders Association agreed to donate a new rose in Headway’s name.
The Headway Rose was launched at the Ryedale Rose Festival last week at RV Rogers Nursery in Pickering, North Yorkshire.
Mr Singleton wrote to gardeners such as Alan Titchmarsh and Monty Don, hoping to raise awareness of the condition.
Mr Singleton said: “I’m so grateful to the Amateur Rose Breeders Association and I’m so pleased the rose is going to help raise awareness. I can’t wait to go to the festival with my wife Janet and see the rose in person.”
A portion of the sales of the Headway Rose will be shared between Headway East Kent and Headway – the brain injury association which has 131 groups across the UK.
Paula Brown, day centres manager for Headway East Kent, said: “Reg has worked tirelessly for the past few years to raise awareness of brain injury and the work Headway does. We can’t thank him and his wife Janet enough for their unwavering support.”
Mr Singleton goes to Headway East Kent twice a week and his wife Janet attends meetings for carers.