What a wonderful evening – plenty of people, good music and dancing. There was a queue at the door before we opened and the guests streamed in, found somewhere to sit and almost immediately got up and danced.
The raffle was successful and Martin Claridge won the The Starr Auction.
The mood was stunning and smiles were broad. We were again taken aback at the generosity and attitude of all the guests – It truly was a wonderful celebration. The Groove Monsters enthralled the crowd with a mix of 50s boppers to more recent hits. Swingshift, the DJ, provided us with many more tunes to dance to from 1930’s foxtrots earlier in the evening to some boogie numbers later which kept the crowd buoyant. It was lovely to be thanked by several people who commented on how good the selection of music was.
After counting up, we have discovered that our grand total is just over £6,000 – all thanks to the companies and individuals who have supported us. Dunmow and the surrounding area should be proud that such an amount has been raised for such an important charity.
We were told by Mum, that we were not to talk about her at the dance during our thank you speech, but really in several ways, it is Mum that has been our stimulus and motivation. She is an amazing person who we are very proud of, and to be fair our father is also a source of inspiration in this situation for all of us. We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has shown their generosity, especially our parents who have made us what we are.
Ovarian Cancer is a silent killer because often the symptoms are not picked up until the cancer has gone too far. We need to remember that it doesn’t just affect the individual who develops the disease, but all of those around them – friends and family. We are lucky that we can share special times with our loved ones and take each day as it comes, but it would be a wonderful thought to imagine the world without the fear of this particular cancer. Our mother is small but extremely strong willed, her attitude to life and this situation always amazes us and we are very proud of her.
Rebecca Reynolds and Esther Rowland