Thank you to everyone who came along to support our Christmas Coffee Morning last Friday, where we raised a whopping £2052!

Everyone agreed what a lovely morning it was. As well as raising funds, it was an opportunity for our members to meet some of the volunteers that they speak to regularly on the phone, over a cup of tea and a mince pie. The Ashbourne Singers kindly came along too and entertained everyone with carols around the tree.

We’re very grateful to Whites of Ashbourne and Wyaston Nursery who generously provided items for our Christmas Raffle; to Claire Astbury for baking the delicious mince pies and the Ashbourne Singers for helping us to get into the festive spirit! To the staff at St Oswald’s Hospital and of course to our wonderful volunteers and members who always support our fundraising events by donating items, helping to organise or just by coming along on the day.

Join us for a mince pie from 10am on Friday the 5th of December, at our Christmas Coffee Morning in St Oswald’s Hospital, Ashbourne.

We’ll have delicious cakes and preserves for sale; you’ll find some super Christmas present ideas at our  handicraft and  jewellery stalls; There will be a tombola, plus the opportunity to buy a ticket for our Christmas raffle – as always we have some fantastic prizes on offer including a luxury hamper worth £100, a £30 voucher for dinner at Whites of Ashbourne, a wine hamper, a basket of fruit and vegetables and a festive pot plant from Wyaston Nursery. We’re also very lucky to have the Ashbourne Singers coming along, to sing  carols around the tree.

Do pop in to see us for this fun festive morning and help to raise some important funds for our free telephone befriending service.

Careline is  thrilled to have been presented with a cheque for £1000 by Ashbourne Rotary Club, during its recent Last Night of the Proms concert.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable  evening of uplifting music, which also demonstrated how lucky Ashbourne is to have so much musical talent.

Ashbourne Town Band conducted by Russell Bevin, led the Prom. Also taking part were popular local soprano Linda Perry-Smith, along with a talented young harpist and  two vocalists who won the recent Rotary Young Musician of the Year Competition. Steve Duckworth, new Musical Director of the Ashbourne Singers, provided the piano accompaniment.

The audience had the opportunity to join in too, singing Rule Britannia amidst much flag waving. Everyone agreed what a fantastic night it had been!

Thank you to the Rotary Club for their generosity and hard work – this is a fantastic sum of money for Careline, which will help to keep our valuable service running.

Thank you to everyone who  donated to Careline  or came to have a chat to our volunteers at Tesco in Uttoxeter on Friday 10th October. We raised £120 and met lots of potential members or people interested in volunteering for us.

Come along and meet us at Tesco on Town Meadows Way,  Uttoxeter on Friday 10th October! We’re having a fundraising stand by the main entrance from 9.30am  to 5.30pm, where you can meet some of our lovely volunteers and find out more about our free telephone befriending service.

Well done and thank you to Nick Hawkes who recently completed his first Triathlon in Ashbourne and in the process managed to raise over £200 for Careline!

Nick, who lives in Clifton with his wife Lesley and children Jess and Ben, said ” I chose this charity because it was local and because it provides such a worthwhile service of friendship to people who need it.”

We’re thrilled that he chose Careline and very grateful for his donation. Thank you also to everyone who supported or sponsored Nick.

This year Careline will be joining the Rotary Club of Uttoxeter’s Walk for Charity at 10am on Sunday 18^th May in the beautiful grounds of the Wootton Lodge Estate, near Ellastone. This is a fantastic opportunity to walk in parkland that is usually closed to the public.

It promises to be a fun event for all the family (including well behaved dogs on leads) and you would be helping a local charity to raise some important funds.

There are 2 walks – 2.5 miles on tarmac roads and 5 miles on tarmac and stoned forest roads. Either come along to join us on the walk or sponsor the Careline Team on our Virgin Money Giving Page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/ & we’ll do the walk for you!

If you would like to join us, you will need to pre-register on http://www.uttoxeter-rotary.org.uk/walk/  – this will cost £5 per person (under 12s free) if you register before 3^rd May. You can register after 3^rd or on the day of the walk but the cost will rise to  £10 per person. Please note also that the Rotary Club do reserve the right to close the walk to new registrations after the 3^rd of May, so register early to avoid disappointment.

Wootton Lodge is thought to have been built in the early 17^th century by Robert Smythson for Sir Richard Fleetwood. It is a very impressive building (grade 1 listed); with three storeys plus a basement and is topped by a balustraded parapet. The Lodge was damaged during the Civil War, but was restored around 1700 when the imposing entrance steps were added.

During the 19^th and 20^th centuries the house was occupied by several well known tenants including Sir Oswald Mosley who wanted the seclusion of Wootton Lodge after his secret marriage to Diana Mitford.

Joseph Bamford, the founder of JCB, bought Wootton Lodge in the late 20^th century and lived there before moving to Switzerland as a tax exile. The lodge is now owned by JCB and the grounds are well maintained by the JCB Estates Department. The grounds are beautiful, with a lake, rivers, mature trees and plenty of wildlife, including a herd of red deer. They are not normally open to the public, so this sponsored walk will give participants the rare privilege of enjoying these magnificent private grounds.

Please call Marianne, Mary or Jo in the Careline office if you need any additional information. Otherwise we look forward to seeing you there!

We’d like to say a big thank you to our members and  volunteers for your continued support. 2013 was an important year for Careline as we saw our service grow to include Uttoxeter and the surrounding villages. We’re all now looking forward to another successful year, when we hope to reach even more people with our befriending calls.