PREVIOUS EVENTS

Twelfth Annual General Meeting

The 12th AGM for the Island Branch took place on the 1st April at the Riverside Centre, Newport. The meeting was opened with a one minute silence for Anthony Minghella who sadly passed away after a short illness on the 18th of March.
The formal part of the evening then got underway. All committee members kindly agreed to continue in office.

The final part of the evening was a very informative talk given by Mr Simon Dabell, who spoke on the subject of Blackgang Chine past and present. He also included the future plans for Robin Hill and took questions and answers.

Trip to the Opera

29th February 2008

Due to popular demand, the IOW Branch President, Mrs Gloria Minghella arranged a second trip to London to the Opera Madame Butterfly which was directed by her son, Anthony Minghella. Dress circle seats and supper in the sky bar at the London Coliseum were also part of the very successful evening, enjoyed by everyone who attended.

The Roadside Inn Public House – Nettlestone.

16th January 2008

Masonic Lodge

3rd December 2007

£511 was raised at the Albany Masonic lodge Ladies Festival at their Gala Dinner held at the Farringford Hotel on the 17th November 2007 in aid of MND.
A cheque was presented on behalf of the Albany Lodge by First Lady Julie Morgan and James Morgan,WM, on the 3rd December 2007. Thank you for your support.

Newport Golf Club Presentation

Saturday 17th November 2007

In her year of captaincy, Priscilla Woodford chose the MND Association Isle of Wight Branch to be her charity for the year and invited members of our committee to receive a cheque for £700 at the Golf Club House.

Antique and Collectors Fair

Sunday 14th October 2007

Jennie Lewis and Doreen Gant's Annual Antique Fair, in memory of their Mum was held at Northwood House. This was another successful event.

MBE for Mrs Gloria Minghella

The death of her sister from Motor Neurone Disease led her to become President of the Island Branch. Mother of the acclaimed film Director, Anthony Minghella, Gloria has been responsible for organising premieres of his films on the Island to raise funds and awareness

Open Day at the Crematorium

Sunday 1st September 2007

This was a very successful event and the total amount raised for the MND Association, Isle of Wight branch was £224.86.

Official Opening of Possum Room

Deal or No Deal

May 2007

Mr. Jeff Uncle Landlord of The Roasdside Inn, Nettlestone appeared the popular day time TV programme Deal or No Deal winning £30,000 of which he generously donated “on air” 10% of his winnings to the Island Branch of the Association.

London Marathon

Eleventh Annual General Meeting

The formal part of the evening then got underway. All committee members kindly agreed to continue in office. Mr Peter Tautz suggested a first anniversary walk of the Normandy Beeches on 16th October 2007 in memory of Roger Griffiths.

The final part of the evening was a very informative talk given by our Speaker, Mr Alan Horwell, who as a Trustee of the Motor Neurone Disease Association and retiring Chief Executive of the Earl Mountbatten Hospice, gave a detailed account of work with MND at National Office

Belvedere Hotel - Christmas Dinner

Wednesday 20th December 2006

The committee and friends enjoyed a very festive evening at the Belvedere Hotel. Served with traditional fare, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment that followed in the form of a singer, magician and finally a comedian.

Belvedere Hotel - Bottle Collection

Wednesday 13th Dec 2006

The contents of a collection bottle on the counter at the Belvedere Hotel for the past year was very kindly donated by the proprietors, Sue and Chris Mcdonald, to the MND Association.  Members of the committee met and counted the contents of the bottle which was an amazing £1,000.

Island Premier of ‘Breaking And Entering’

Friday 17th November 2006
On a very wet and wild night, the brave and hearty ventured out to support the gala screening of the film director, Anthony Minghella’s latest film “Breaking & Entering”. The evening commenced with a drinks reception at the Medina Theatre and a raffle. Following screening of the film there was a ‘question and answer’ session with Anthony. The film premier and reception raised £5,930, which included the proceeds of the raffle.

Antique Fair

Sunday 15th October 2006

Jennie and Doreen’s 3rd Antique Fair in memory of their Mum was held at Northwood House.  Once again this was a very successful event raising £1,314.37 for our charity.  A painting of Cowes Yacht Haven was donated for auction at the Fair by the artist John Calloway which raised another £350.00 for the MND Association.

Open Day at the Crematorium

Sunday 30th April 2006

Conducted tours of the Crematorium were carried out throughout the day with a Service of Remembrance to end a most interesting and enjoyable occasion.  Light refreshments were provided and the event raised a total of £146.00.

Tenth Annual General Meeting

Wednesday 15th March 2006

The 10th AGM for the Island Branch took place on 15th March at the Riverside Centre, Newport. The Chairman opened the meeting at 7.00pm and welcomed everybody and thanked them all for coming.  She made special mention of the Volunteers who give their time so generously, and to Karen Wetherick, Regional Care Adviser, from Southampton who is new to the post.  She also welcomed Sally Hope, Jennie Lewis, Doreen Gant and Susan Campion who are new to the Committee and have brought with them much enthusiasm, also Wendy Farley who has recently become a Welfare Visitor.

The formal part of the evening then got underway. With much regret the committee accepted that Geraldine Watling would stand down from her commitment to the MND Association as Visitor as well as a past Chairperson.  All other members kindly agreed to continue in office.  Karen Wetherick introduced herself and gave special thanks to Geraldine for her guidance and help. The committee also offered their sincere thanks to Geraldine, presenting her with a gift token from Busy Bee in appreciation of all her invaluable work.

The final part of the evening was an informative talk given by our Speaker, Mr Tony Gale on the subject of Coastguards of the Isle of Wight, the subject of a book recently written by Mr Gale. Gloria extended her thanks for a most interesting talk.

Ninth Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 15th March 2005

The 9th AGM for the Island Branch took place on 15th March at the Riverside Centre, Newport.  The Meeting commenced at 7pm and the Chairman read out a letter from Gloria Minghella, in which she gave thanks to Heather for stepping into the role of Chairman, and especially to Ann for her hard work during a difficult time with the Accounts.

The formal part of the evening then got underway. All committee members kindly agreed to continue in office.

Trip to the Opera

The IOW Branch President Mrs Gloria Minghella arranged a
very special trip for Opera lovers. Her son - the acclaimed film director
Anthony Minghella - made his opera debut on the 25th November 2005 with a
production of Puccini's Madame Butterfly. The party was joined by Sarah,
Duchess of York who is patron of the MND Association and Lady Halifax who is president.
Dress circle seats and supper in London with Anthony together with Jude Law
were also part of the very successful and hugely enjoyable evening.

Sponsored Walk of the Normandy Landings

On Sunday 16 October, Roger Griffiths and friends left the Isle of Wight early in the morning and travelled to Normandy in France to commence a sponsored walk that would cover the length of all five of the Normandy landing beaches. Roger, who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease earlier this year wanted to complete this walk to raise money and awareness of the disease. The walk was completed in four days with the team covering 100 kilometres (60 miles) and involved 20 hours of walking.

Sponsor money is still being collected but Roger has already exceeded his original target. For more information have a look at Roger’s story on: www.duck.isleofwight.com/rogers_normandy_walk.htm

Well done Roger!!

Rogers’s determination and courage has inspired the Round Table organisations on the Island to join together and help his cause. They have organised a “Crazy Duck” Appeal – see Future Events for details

Antiques Fair at Northwood House

Sunday 16 October 2005 As this event proved to be a great success last year, sisters Doreen Gant and Jennie Lewis ran another antiques fair at Northwood House with all proceeds going to the MND Association. Funds were raised via the entrance fee, valuation fees, the local branch’s usual stall and a tombola.

Doreen and Jennie had set a target of raising £1000 and they have easily exceeded this goal!

Barton Manor Fairs

The local branch manned a stall as usual during the fairs that were held over the summer and autumn months. We continue to hold our “Pot of Gold” competition and to sell MND Association cards and merchandise which all help to raise funds and raise awareness of the disease.

On Sunday 2 October we had one of our most successful days there - the total raised was £402.30.

Darts Weekend

The Culver Lodge Hotel in Sandown hosted a darts weekend, which started on 1st July. They held a number of raffles throughout the weekend and presented us with a cheque for £500!

Swimarathon - March 2005

On 5th March 2005 a Swimarathon was organized by the Lions Club of Sandown and Shanklin to raise money for MNDA IOW Branch, Sandown & Shanklin Junior Life Guards Training Unit and Saturday Night Club with Disabilities. We had a team of six swimmers who were sponsored to swim as many lengths possible, in a relay, for one hour. This proved harder than we had expected but we managed 100 lengths! On the 14 May we were presented with a cheque for £1500 – many thanks to the Lions Club, everyone who helped organize the day and of course all the swimmers!

The swimmers were:

Back row: Carrie Attrill, Nicola Ogg, Rob Abel, Hayley Edwards

Presentation from the Isle of Wight Provincial Grand Lodge of Buffaloes

21st January 2005

Members of the IOW MNDA Branch Committee met, at All Saints Church Hall in Ryde, with the Isle of Wight Provincial Grand Lodge of Buffaloes on 21st January 2005 and were presented with a cheque for £450. The Lodge had been busy collecting throughout the year with various fundraising functions. The same amount was also presented to the IOW Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Presentation from the Belvedere Hotel

1 st November 2004

The Belvedere Hotel in Sandown had been collecting on behalf of MNDA over 2004. They had placed a large bottle on their bar and customers and visitors had been dropping their small (and not so small!) change into the bottle. By the end of October the bottle was full so the IOW Branch was invited to come and help count up the contents. A small team and a couple of hours were needed to get through the huge pile of coins - but the task was completed! It was a good, fun evening with lots of laughs and very big smiles all round when the grand total was added up and found to be £623!!!

Halloween Party

Saturday 30th October 2005

The Culver Lodge Hotel in Sandown hosted a Halloween party. IOW MNDA Branch Committee members, Helen and Michael Spencer, organised the event in conjunction with the Culver Lodge hotel. All the stops were pulled out with regards to spooky decorations and costumes! Guests received a glass of Witches' Brew punch on arrival and enjoyed a buffet and disco. There was a raffle, and prizes awarded for best fancy dress.

Antique Fair at Northwood House

Sunday 17th October 2004

An Antiques Fair was organised by Jennie Lewis and family in order to raise money and awareness for those living with Motor Neurone Disease. Visitors were charged a small entrance fee at the door, and valuations were also available at a small charge. Members of the IOW Branch Committee helped provide refreshments. The day was highly successful with a busy stream of visitors.

The day raised over £800. Many thanks to all those who worked so hard in organising and putting on this memorable day.

Quiz Night at St Mary's Hospital Social Club

7th October 2004

St Mary's Hospital Social Club regularly holds events including Quiz nights. On the 7th October the IOW Branch was chosen to receive any profits raised at the evening's quiz. The MNDA Branch Committee put forward two teams to join in the fun and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They managed to do reasonably well and felt they had not disgraced themselves with their quiz results!

The Branch was presented with £235.00.

First Coffee morning for people living with MND and their Carers

13th September 2004

The IOW Branch was keen to organize informal get-togethers for people on the Island living with MND and/or their carers. The aim was to provide support to one another either just by meeting up or using the opportunity to talk to others going through similar experiences. Our first coffee morning was organized by Geraldine and Ann, our Association Visitors and took place on 13th September. More are planned for 2005. Dates will be advertised soon.

Barton Manor Fairs throughout Summer 2004

Barton Manor hosted four fairs with different themes during the summer months:

• Sunday 6th June - English Country Fair
• Sunday 4th July - American Independence Day
• Sunday 1st August - Antique Fair
• Sunday 5th September - All that Jazz

The Branch had a stall at each of the Summer Fairs, which we used as an opportunity to raise funds and awareness. We sold MNDA cards, wrapping paper, pens and badges as well as bric-a-brac. We had a "Pot of Gold" competition and a "Guess the Weight of the Cake" competition.

Walk the Wight 2004

The annual Walk the Wight event took place on Sunday 16 th May 2004. It was the biggest Walk the Wight ever organised with over 3000 people taking part. Walkers could decide on walking either the first part form Bembridge Airfield to Carisbrooke Castle or the second stint from the Castle to the Needles park at Alum Bay or for those brave and fit enough they could tackle the whole breadth of the Island – a total of 26miles!! The event is organised to raise funds for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice although a small team walked to raise money for MND Association.

We had a beautiful warm, sunny day, which was a vast improvement on the previous year that was wet, cold and foggy!

Eighth Annual General Meeting

Wednesday 17 th March 2004

The 8 th AGM for the Island Branch took place on 17 th March at the Riverside Centre, Newport. Before the AGM commenced at 7pm we had wine and canapés to thank the sponsors that supported the Cold Mountain Island Premiere. Then cheques were presented to the Island Chairperson Geraldine Watling, Julie Clifton from Earl Mountbatten Hospice and a representative from MND Association National Office.

The formal part of the evening then got underway. Geraldine has kindly agreed to continue in the role of Chairperson until we find a new, permanent Chairperson to take over the reins.

The final part of the evening was an informative and interactive talk given by our Speaker for the evening, crime writer Mia Trow. Mr Trow is an Island based author who has written a number of crime-related novels and non-fictional books. His most recent series features a teacher who solves murders in his spare time. During his talk we were asked to work through how we would go about committing a murder. Our audience was surprisingly inventive. However we soon realised that no matter how inventive you are it is very difficult to get away with it!!!

Island Premiere of Cold Mountain

On Sunday 4 th January 2004, the Isle of Wight premiere of Anthony Minghella’s latest film Cold Mountain took place at the Medina Theatre in Newport. The evening was the latest in a series organised by Anthony Minghella’s mother Gloria, in order to raise funds and awareness for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Anthony generously allowed this film and previous hits such as The Talented Mr Ripley to be shown at such Isle of Wight Premiere’s in order to help the Island Branch of which Mrs Minghella is President.

The black tie event was a great success, featuring a drinks and buffet reception; the film was followed by a questions and answer session with the director himself. All the tickets for the evening were sold out and people were generous in their participation in the raffle that was drawn during the evening.

The grand total raised during the evening was a phenomenal £24,000!!!!!