A seriously-ill teenage girl, Harriet Bond – the daughter of submariner Lt Ian Bond – has received a life-changing Christmas gift thanks mainly to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund and Naval welfare support service.

Harriet, aged 13, has been given a special text-based mobile phone to allow her to communicate more regularly with friends and family.

Until now Harriet has been loaned a similar phone – called a Lightwriter Connect and costing almost £5,000 – during her daytime attendance at the Lavinia Norfolk Centre in Angmering, a centre for young children with physical, mental, medical and sensory difficulties.

But having her own, upgraded model – which has been funded by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund charity and two local Rotary clubs – will open up her world 24 hours a day.

She will be able to stay in touch with her group of close friends plus when necessary have phone conversations with mum Sarah, dad Ian and 19-year-old brother Henry.

She became seriously ill in 2006 with a rare neurological condition Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM).

She suffered another episode of the illness in 2009 which left her with severe mobility, speech and feeding difficulties, although her intellectual capabilities remain intact.

Harriet’s family has been supported throughout her illness by the Naval Personal and Family Service and Royal Marines Welfare which offers a comprehensive social work service to RN personnel and their families.

They played a big part, securing the funds to ensure Harriet receives the £4,585 Lightwriter in time for Christmas.

Two special mounts to allow the Lightwriter to be fitted to Harriet’s two wheelchairs were provided by the Snowdrop charity.

Harriet’s submariner father, Lt Bond, said: “Harriet’s illness has been devastating to our family; she is such a lovely, full-of-life girl who always has a smile on her face.

“Her first episode of ADEM saw her make a very good recovery in a short space of time. However this time around her improvements have been a lot slower. We all remain positive that her recovery will continue to improve.

“The level of support she has received has been extremely uplifting.

“This new Lightwriter will enable her to socialise with her new friends she is making at Lavinia Norfolk Centre.

“Thank you just doesn’t sound enough but we are all very grateful to all who have helped her.”

The Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund

 Dinner at Leeds Castle

Friday May 18^th 2012

 The Saxon manor of Esledes was an ideal place for the descendant of one of William the Conqueror’s lords, Robert de Crevecoeur, to fortify and build a castle in 1119. LeedsCastlepassed into royal hands in 1278 and became part of the Queen of England’s dower – the settlement widowed queens received upon the death of their husbands.  Over the course of 150 years it was held by six mediaeval queens: Eleanor of Castile, Margaret of France, Isabella of France, Joan of Navarre, Anne of Bohemia and Catherine de Valois.

In Tudor times Henry VIII visited frequently, notably with his Queen, Catherine of Aragon, and their entire court on the way to the tournament of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, which took place inFrancein 1520.  Henry’s son, King Edward VI, granted the castle to one of Henry’s courtiers for his services.  Since then it has been in private ownership.  It has been used as a garrison, a prison and a convalescent home, as well as being the home of the Culpeper, Fairfax and Wykeham Martin families.   It was refurbished in the 1920s by Lady Baillie, an American heiress, and is now maintained by the Leeds Castle Foundation for the benefit and enjoyment of the public.

Itinerary of evening:

18:00               Guests arrive for those wanting guided tours of the Castle

18:30              Champagne reception

20:15               Dinner in the Henry VIII Banqueting Hall

After dinner speech

00:30               Carriages, guests depart

Tables of 10 are available at this unique and fascinating evening to be held at Leeds Castle in the Henry VIII banqueting hall.  Rooms are available in the Castle should you wish to stay the night, please contact us for more details and prices.  If you would like to attend this amazing evening or for more information please contact Clare Scherer on 07947 691 950 or clarescherer@hotmail.com

www.rnrmchildrensfund.org.uk

www.leeds-castle.com

These normally take place over 8 days AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN 24 HOURS. The challenge finished with a 30 miler over very wet and boggy undulating ground. Mentally and physically the hardest 24 hours of their lives.

A huge thank you to all those who took part and their supporters.

Completing the Four Commando Tests in just 24 hours

Auction on the night to include mini breaks in Hilton Hotels in the Algarve and Paris and Victory Oak items plus a signed Portsmouth Football shirt

Raffle prizes to include a short break in the Waldorf Hotel in London and a real pearl necklace plus much more.

 
 
 
The Model Engineer Exhibition
Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey
9th – 11th December 2011
£8.00pp entry

Visit and see the Lady Kristen which will be on show and is being auctioned to raise money for RNRMCF and ABF. Donated by Raymond Hunt.

Raymond Hunt is a artist based in Cornwall. The schooner Lady Kristin took more than four years to make and won a bronze medal at the World Engineering Model Exhibition at Royal Ascot in 2007, against a field of hundreds of entries from around the world. Raymond said: ‘since the 1980’s I have used my work to help those in need. We’ve all seen the footage of the coffins coming back from war, the widows laying flowers and the children left without their dad. It breaks your heart and you can’t help but want to do something for them.’

The model maker and artist spent four and a half years piecing together thousands of tiny pieces of wood to construct the Lady Kristen. She was built from scratch using mainly hardwood. The only pieces which were not hand-made were the rigging and paint and is named after his wife.

 
 
Dinner at Leeds Castle
18th May 2012

Dinner in the historic Henry VIIIth Banqueting Hall, rooms available in the Castle. £200pp (individual or tables of 10 available)
Tickets from Clare on 07947 691 950

As one of their chosen charities, the RNRMCF will receive a donation each time the Online Will Writing Service from George Ide is used.

Their cost-effective online will writing service allows you to make your Will yourself by following an easy to understand interactive questionnaire.

Once you have completed the questionnaire and paid for the service your online Will is thoroughly checked by their legal team to make sure you haven’t made any errors or asked for something that won’t work. The team at George Ide will then contact you to confirm your instructions.

Your will is printed on high quality paper and securely bound with security rivets so that nothing can be tampered with in future.

They will then send the Will to you directly, accompanied by the signing and witnessing instructions. Once you have returned your Will in the pre-paid envelope they will check that the Will has been signed and witnessed properly (a vital step to ensure that it is valid in the eyes of the law).

If you wish, they are able to store your original Will in a secure facility for free, meaning that irreplaceable paperwork is safe and confidential, so it can’t be invalidated by accident or viewed inappropriately by family or friends. A copy of your Will and a plain English commentary of your Will can also be supplied to keep at home.

Prices start from just £114 for a basic single Will.

For further information, please click on the link below:
http://www.georgeide.co.uk/wills-probate-trusts-solicitors/online-will-writing.html
or contact George Ide at

52 North Street
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 1NQ
Tel: 01243 786 668
Fax: 01243 831 000
Email: info@georgeide.co.uk

Entry is by application form only. You may enter as many times as you wish upon a suggested minimum donation to the charity of £2.00 for a single photo, or alternatively you may enter up to 4 photos for £5.00 or 10 photos for a £10.00 donation. You will need to make a donation to receive an application form.

The categories for this year’s competition are:
1 – THE NATURAL WORLD
2 – THE MAN MADE WORLD
3 – ABSTRACT

First Prize – An exclusive behind the scenes visit to the Portsmouth News Photography Department and also to spend some time with the photographic team including a one to one coaching session with a professional photographer.

In addition the winning photo will be enlarged and presented to the winner as a memento.

Runners up will receive £100 worth of photographic related items, including an enlarged canvas print of their photo.
Closing date 28th October 2011
Prize giving 25th November 2011

For more details please contact Lorie Coffey on 02392 857399 Or E-Mail charitychallenge@baesystems.com

Alternatively you can apply on line via our Virgin Giving pages. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CharityChallenge

Please support this incredible challenge by donating through our Virgin Giving pages which also give more details of this gruelling event. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/4testchallenge

The ultimate physical challenge. For more information please contact Les Barrow on 07843383560 or lesbarrow@hotmail.co.uk

In aid of The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund and in association with BAE Systems Surface Ships Charity Challenge Portsmouth and The Portsmouth News.

Entry is by application form only. You may enter as many times as you wish upon a suggested minimum donation to the charity of £2.00 for a single photo, or alternatively you may enter up to 4 photos for £5.00 or 10 photos for a £10.00 donation. You will need to make a donation to receive an application form.

The categories for this year’s competition are:
1 – THE NATURAL WORLD
2 – THE MAN MADE WORLD
3 – ABSTRACT

First Prize – An exclusive behind the scenes visit to the Portsmouth News Photography Department and also to spend some time with the photographic team including a one to one coaching session with a professional photographer.

In addition the winning photo will be enlarged and presented to the winner as a memento.

Runners up will receive £100 worth of photographic related items, including an enlarged canvas print of their photo.
Closing date 28th October 2011
Prize giving 25th November 2011

For more details please contact Lorie Coffey on 02392 857399 Or E-Mail charitychallenge@baesystems.com

Alternatively you can apply on line via our Virgin Giving pages. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CharityChallenge

Read the full article.

We are delighted that we were chosen as the charity to support by the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes G.L.E. Portsmouth Province over the last year.

Their fundraising efforts covered raffles, sponsored walks and all kinds of ways to support us – raising a wonderful £2,505. Our thanks go to them all.