Blog
6 October, 2009
Chris & Barnaby Beck perform ‘This is The Life’, a song they wrote and recorded about their times together. We were so inspired by this video that we would like to share it with you. Click here to see their wonderful perfomance.
Perhaps to inspire you to join us in a project led by Chris called ‘Words and Wine’….
Hello, my name is Chris Beck and I visit Thomley Hall with my son Barnaby. I am working with Claire and Milly on a new ‘Creative’ project and I would be delighted to hear from other parents, siblings, family members and carers who have first-hand experience of living, knowing and working with children/young people who have disabilities.
I would like to invite you to join me, in creating a ‘Book of Awareness’ entitled ‘That’s how it is’ to be filled with words, poetry, songs, sketches and illustrations written and created by families who know ‘How it is’. Inspired by our children, not only will this project/book allow us to share our experiences but also offer insight and awareness to those who may not truly understand.
You may like to write just one line of thought, a rhyme or a poem. It could be a song, a small pencil sketch or cartoon…it really doesn’t matter as long as it relates to your experience of ‘how it is’ for you. Submissions can of course, be anonymous.
The proposed planning of this project goes something like this!
1. I will be introducing myself to you at ‘Family Days’ and ‘Dads and Male Carers Days’ to hear your ideas and thoughts, and hopefully to inspire you all to join in.
2. We plan to hold a ‘Words and Wine’ evening which will be an opportunity to share a glass of wine together, be introduced to this exciting new venture and to hear a few words written or a couple of songs sung.
3. (A few months down the road) we will stage a ‘That’s how it is’ event to share ALL the work created to date. Finally ALL work/submissions will be collated and our book – ‘That’s how it is’ will then be printed and published and ready to share with the world!
Apart from sharing ‘That’s how it is’ with all those people we know, it can of course be sold as a book, becoming a great ‘gift of awareness’ and raising some much needed and deserved funds for our well loved Thomley Hall.
Thank you for reading. I look forward to meeting you all and hopefully working together to create and compile our very own book of awareness.
Please start now – any thoughts and words that come to mind – write them down.
Many thanks and very best wishes to you all
Chris
31 August, 2009
On Saturday, Edd Nieburg and Ben Halliwell completed a gruelling 12 marathons in 13 days to raise funds for Thomley. Over 310 miles from their starting point, Edd and Ben ran back through Thomley’s gates, welcomed by 200 people attending our annual open day.
“A year ago, Edd contacted me to say that he and his friend Ben were planning to run to raise £20,000 for Thomley. True to their word, they trained for a year, took 2 weeks off work, gritted their teeth through hoards of blisters, horrible hills and excruciating nightly physio sessions. I am so impressed with what they have achieved and very relieved they are back in one piece. So far they have raised over £8,700 for Thomley. We are incredibly grateful for their support as this year has been financially tougher than most to raise the £250,000 necessary to keep the centre running”. Claire Acworth
“The first couple of days were really hard. I think the second day was the hardest, as we didn’t really know what to expect. The last few days were bad, as we were so close to finishing and we knew we had to get through it. I’m glad it’s over with. We both took two weeks’ annual leave, which we could have spent on a beach in Spain!” - Edd Nieburg
“I don’t think we really knew what to expect. The first week was tough on the body. At some points we were thinking of packing it in. After day 10 the body was saying ‘that’s enough’, but we pushed on. I was quite relieved at the end of it. We were welcomed back at Thomley by a huge gathering, as it was their open day” - Ben Halliwell
Along the way they gained support from Michael Heseltine (Former Deputy Prime Minister), Ed Vaizey (MP), Ken Bruce (Radio 2 Presenter and Patron to Thomley), Rory Bremner (Comedian), John Howell (MP) and Bryan Steel (Olympic cycling medallist and Sports Ambassador to Thomley).
To sponsor Edd and Ben, visit www.justgiving.com/thegreatcrosscountry or read more about their challenge on www.thegreatcrosscountryrun.co.uk
23 April, 2009
Unfortunately, in January 2009, Thomley staff arrived back to work to find that burst pipes had caused a very destructive flood in the eating area. To add insult to injury, in March thieves heartlessly broke the door down and caused yet further damage to this same building to steal the dehumidifiers which were drying the area.
Both of these incidences have rendered the building completely out of action; an area which had previously been used by up to 120 visitors per day to sit down together and eat lunch. The area is also used for cooking and food preparation projects which help to develop the life skills of disabled children. Claire Acworth (Director) said, “There are so few places that disabled children can go to join in with and enjoy play activities. We are horrified that the thieves had so little conscience that they targeted a charity providing such valuable support to disabled children. These two disastrous events have not only made our eating area unusable, but have diverted precious staff time away from providing direct support to disabled children as well as urgently needed fundraising work. We are therefore appealing to the general public to help support our work.”
By forcing entry into another building, the thieves also stole a lawnmower which had been kindly loaned to Thomley by Kubota of Thame.
Thomley is urgently appealing for funds to get the eating and kitchen area up and running again as the insurance payment will not cover all the necessary work which includes improvements. To support this work, visit our webpage http://thomleyactivitycentre.org/support-us/online-giving/
We would like to say a big thank you to those who have supported us so far. Every penny counts, thank you.
7 February, 2009
The canteen has been temporarily relocated due to a flood. The smaller space available may affect eating times, so please call the office if you have any concerns. We hope this will not disrupt our normal service in any way, but we will keep you updated.
1 December, 2008
Finally we have found time to redesign our website. We hope that you find it informative, interesting, accessible… and everything else you want it to be! Most of all, we hope that it inspires you to come and visit us, or to support the valuable work we are doing. If there is anything you think we should add or remove, please let us know…
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