July 2024 - East Cheshire Hospice
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Month: July 2024

David Black received 30 years of volunteering recognition

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

East Cheshire Hospice held its annual thank you party for the volunteers the Hospice relies upon heavily to keep services running smoothly.

Around 140 volunteers attended the event at Mottram St Andrew village hall.

The Hospice traditionally gives long service awards each summer to those who have reached another five years of service.

Some 35 helpers received an award this year in recognition of their efforts fulfilling various roles in the Hospice itself, out in the community, or supporting the four shops.

Volunteers recognised this time included the Hospice’s longest serving volunteer Moira Gregory (was Furmage), who has completed an incredible 35 years’ service helping on the inpatient unit, while David Black has clocked up an impressive 30 years.

David Black (left) with Will Spinks, Chair of the Hospice Board of Trustees, at the volunteer thank you party.

Volunteer Services Lead Angela O’Mahony said: “We are fortunate to have about 600 volunteers in total who give their time to us for free.

“This saves the Hospice valuable money and helps us deliver the high standards of service and care that we pride ourselves on. We thank them all for their amazing dedication.”

The Hospice has several volunteers who have completed more than 30 years’ service.

A total of 19 have been involved for more than 20 years, while 65 have been giving their time for at least 10 years.

David, from Macclesfield, is retired after spending most of his career with AstraZenaca.

He said: “It’s a privilege to help at the Hospice. It’s a wonderful place to work and feel part of that voluntary team.

“If we help the Hospice that’s good, but it’s also good for us to be doing it.

“I’ve worked mainly on the inpatient unit, carrying out general duties which include pushing the tea trolley round, doing whatever I can within my capability to help the nurses get on with their job.

“I am on a Sunday morning slot at the moment and quite a big part of it is just stopping and chatting with patients and relatives if they want a chat.”

“The going around with the tea trolley is the sort of entre to speak with people if they feel they want to talk.”

Lucas Jackson is tackling the Three Peaks Challenge

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Scaling the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales within the space of 24 hours is the challenge facing Lucas Jackson.

Spurring him on will be the memory of his mum Annalisa who died of cancer in January, aged 52.

Lucas Jackson with mum Annalisa.

Lucas, from Macclesfield, has already raised more than £2,200 for East Cheshire Hospice where his mum spent her final days.

Lucas is tackling the Three Peaks Challenge with close friend Ben Dewe this weekend (Aug 3-4).

Lucas’ dad Simon will drive the pair on their adventure which starts at Ben Nevis and is followed by Scafell and then Snowdon.

Lucas during his Snowdon climb last year.

Annalisa, an accountant based in Manchester, died within weeks of diagnosis.

Lucas, an apprentice engineer, said: “Mum was the best person ever and it was a great shock to lose her. It all happened so quickly.

“The care she received at the Hospice was amazing and this is my way of thanking them for looking after her and many others.

“I climbed Snowdon and Scafell last year, so Ben Nevis is the only peak I’ve not visited but doing them at once is completely different.

“Thankfully dad has volunteered to drive so we can focus on the walking.

“Ben and I enjoy going to the gym and walk a lot so we’re quite active, but it’ll be tough, especially within a 24-hour target.

“I think I might book a few days off work afterwards.”

* To sponsor Lucas visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/lucas-jackson-3peaks

Hospice Gets New Wi-Fi System

Posted on by Luke Brightmore

Visitors to East Cheshire Hospice are enjoying the benefits of a new sophisticated Wi-Fi system.

The equipment was installed thanks to the generosity of a visitor who noticed a weak signal at the Millbank Drive facility.

East Cheshire Hospice Entrance

* East Cheshire Hospice has a new Wi-Fi system.

He experienced the Wi-Fi problem while visiting his wife and used business contacts to secure a more modern wireless set-up.

Patients, families, carers and staff are taking advantage of the improvements.

Conor Stubbs, the Hospice’s Head of IT, said: “We’ve had excellent feedback from staff, patients and visitors who tell us that connection is reliable and fast across our site.

“It’s made a big impact on the patient and staff experience, allowing them to stay connected and seamlessly browse the web, stream and video call.

“Thank you to everyone involved for their generous support and hard work on this project which has made a big difference.

“Our old system was slowing down and didn’t meet Hospice needs, especially as we’ve expanded and grown as an organisation. New Wi-Fi was in the pipeline but was fast-tracked thanks to this kind offer.”

Conor Stubbs

* Conor Stubbs, Head of IT at East Cheshire Hospice.

* The Hospice is looking for runners willing to raise funds for them in the London Landmarks half marathon on Sunday, April 6, 2025.

The race is the only half marathon to go through both the City of London and the City of Westminster.

The route starts at Pall Mall and finishes by Downing Street, taking in iconic landmarks such as Big Ben and St Paul’s Cathedral.

London Landmarks half marathon

* Visit our events page to find current challenge events.

Deputy Matron Remembered on Hospice Memory Tree

Posted on by Luke Brightmore

A pioneering nurse who was there when East Cheshire Hospice opened is remembered on the Hospice’s Memory Tree.

Deputy matron Jean Stevenson described her time on the Hospice ward as the ‘jewel of her nursing career.’

Jean died last December, aged 83, just four months after losing her husband Christopher who was 77.

Jean was a key part of the Hospice’s development. She spent five and a half years on the staff from 1988 after spotting an advertisement for the role of assistant head of nursing.

It was her last job in a nursing career which spanned more than 30 years.

Son Simon said: “Mum adored the Hospice – there’s no two ways about it. She regarded it as a privilege to work there and made some lifelong friends.

“I don’t think it was a job to her, but something she did naturally. She spoke about her role with such warmth and held the Hospice in high esteem.

Hospice staff from times gone by

* Flashback to the Hospice early days. Jean Stevenson (third from right, front row) with Claire Jones (second from right, back row).

“She enjoyed working with a collection of highly skilled staff who had the right temperament and created an atmosphere of warmth and happiness with a desire to help people out.

“Mum was heavily involved in the church. Our parents had a strong faith and the bereavement aspect had a big part in her role and outlook on things.”

Family friend Randall Gray, who lives in Florida, bought a leaf dedicated to the couple’s memory.

Simon and brother David – they also have an older brother Michael – visited the Memory Tree where they met Claire Jones, a nursing colleague of Jean.

Simon said: “I now live in Abersoch and returning to the Hospice back brought a lot of memories. We were given a tour and as soon as we saw Claire recognised her and gave her a hug.

“Mum kept in touch with the Hospice when she retired and was keen on fundraising.

“We were blown away that Randall, whom we met on a family holiday when we were young, wanted to buy a leaf. We had no idea he was doing it.

“The Memory Tree has rekindled our connection with the Hospice and is a wonderful legacy of our mum’s involvement.”

The metal tree is in the gardens behind the main Hospice building. Subscription is £10 a month or £120 for a year.

Stevenson Family

* To sign up to the Memory Tree visit www.eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/memory-tree.

For queries, contact amy.williams@echospice.org.uk or call 01625 665688.

Peter Davis’s Art Fair talk

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

The mobile phone and its presence in everyday life is depicted in a series of contemporary paintings by prize winning Cheshire artist Peter Davis.

A fascinating theme which features in his 45-minute talk entitled ‘Painting the Zeitgeist’ at Art Fair Cheshire 2024 on Sunday, September 29, from 11.30 am.

The exhibition, sponsored by AstraZeneca, is at Macclesfield Town Hall (Sept 26 to Oct 3) and in aid of East Cheshire Hospice. Admission is free.

Artist Peter Davis who is giving a talk at Art Fair Cheshire 2024. 

Peter said: “I like capturing the world and the era we live in. I’m fascinated by the urban environment and inner cities and how quickly they’re changing.

“My overriding obsession is people and their relationship with technology. I remember life before people had black rectangles in their hand. They might have gone on a train and read an actual book made of paper, looked out of the window or walked down the street and didn’t just look down at their phone.

“If you took a snapshot of people walking down the main street in Macclesfield, 90 per cent will be on their mobile.”

A sample of Peter Davis’ award-winning work.

Peter’s talk will highlight parallels with American painter Edward Hopper. Peter said: “He painted in the 1920s and I’m painting in the 2020s. I’m interested in how he documented life, particularly in New York, and what we can learn from that.”

A member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, Peter currently has a portrait of a young woman exhibited in a prestigious award at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Visit www.theartfair.org.uk.

RHS Flower Show installation by Florist Kathryn Cronin

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Florist Kathryn Cronin has a yellow theme for her installation at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park in the next few days (Wed July 17 – Sun July 21).

Daffodils and sunflowers feature in a poignant tribute to her late friend Christine Jones.

The choice of colour is deliberate – the sunflower is the emblem of East Cheshire Hospice where Christine died of bowel cancer in January, while the daffodil is a nod to their Welsh upbringing.

The installation called ‘Threshold – On Life and Living’ is to raise awareness of the Hospice’s work and its motto ‘where people come to live.’

Kathryn Cronin at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show.

Kathryn is exhibiting at Tatton for the third time and had an installation at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show, though this display at Tatton is special for personal reasons.

She said: “This is the most ambitious installation I’ve done and it’s the one that means the most since it’s in honour of a dear long-standing friend.

“Christine loved her garden and I had to have daffodils so I dried them. As a fellow Welsh girl, we’d often cheer the Welsh rugby team when everyone else wasn’t.”

Kathryn at work in her garden. 

Fresh and dried flowers, all sustainably British grown, are arranged in wild garden style, a wooden door frame forming a living threshold.

Kathryn developed her floral passion at five inspired by her fuchsia-loving grandfather Jack.

“I would stand in his greenhouse knee high to his potting bench. The greenhouse took up half the garden at his terraced house in Cardiff. I just loved it and I think every child needs to know how to grow food or flowers.”

Kathryn with flowers for Fashion on the Edge.

Kathryn worked for AstraZeneca for 25 years and has supported the Hospice’s Fashion on the Edge show with flowers grown in her Cheshire canal side cutting garden.

Her business www.fierceblooms.com provides exclusively British flowers for weddings, funerals and other functions and she is passionate about sustainability.

Friends Christine and Christopher Jones on their 40th wedding anniversary.

“Many places grow flowers for import and that takes a lot of carbon, chemicals and air freight, but you can have beautiful British grown seasonal flowers.

“This has been the toughest year I’ve known for growing flowers due to the cold and wet. The installation will hopefully raise awareness for East Cheshire Hospice where Christine received such wonderful care.”

Coming back to East Cheshire Hospice was like coming home

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Coming back to East Cheshire Hospice was like coming home … a quote from mum Georgia Leah reflecting on her husband Leon’s final journey.

It is 16 months since Leon, a drayman at Wincle Brewery, died from pancreatic cancer, aged 53.

His pain was so bad he was readmitted to the Hospice within 48 hours of going home following a three-week inpatient stay.

Wife Georgia is courageously sharing the couple’s story to raise awareness of how much the Hospice cares for patients like her late husband.

Ruby Leah takes on a nursing role to help her dad.

Georgia features in an emotional video produced by the Hospice and shared with supporters.

The little star of the film is three-year-old daughter Ruby who fell in love with the nurses, even helping them care for her doting dad.

Georgia said: “Leon was an amazing dad. He was so hands-on and loved spending time with Ruby.

Georgia, Ruby and Leon.  

“He started to feel pain six months after she was born and it reached the stage where he couldn’t even play with her or read her a story.

“A Macmillan nurse suggested pain management at the Hospice and he was reluctant to go in at first.

“Then he agreed to give it a try. He had his own room and Ruby loved it. That settled Leon and he felt better.

“We spent quality time together. Having a conversation and watching him read her a story and smile was everything.

“When he came out, the Hospice gave us an out of hours number and his pain suddenly got so bad that I had to ring it.

“Coming back to the Hospice was like coming home. When the ambulance took him back, I just knew they’d look after him.

“They also looked after me and were the first to give me a hug, tell me what was happening and help me make some pretty hard decisions in the few hours we’d got left.

“The nursing staff understood and knew what to say. We were also offered bereavement counselling which I found helpful.

“Ruby wanted to be a nurse, carrying medicine and hot water bottles for her dad. I bought her a nurse’s outfit from a charity shop and she carried round a doctor’s toy set. She felt she was helping and looking after Leon.

“The staff became a massive part of Ruby’s life and she’s often been back to say Hi to them.”

* To watch the video visit eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/campaign/georgias-story/

Georgia Leah is on a mission to raise funds for East Cheshire Hospice

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Georgia Leah is on a mission to raise funds for East Cheshire Hospice, inspired by her husband’s story and the cost of caring for patients.

Family and friends have helped the Macclesfield mum raise around £10,000 so far.

A Snowdon climb and sky dive have already been completed since Leon died in the Hospice in March 2023.

Georgia and daughter Ruby have also taken part in the Starlight Walk twice to honour his memory.

A family fundraiser … Ruby, mum Georgia with Hannah Middlebrook and Freya Eeles at the Starlight Walk in April.

Georgia said: “We want to give back in any way we can. It’s our way of saying thank you to the Hospice for looking after Ruby’s dad.

“She asks to see the nurses every week and we go in as often as we can.”

The Hospice are highlighting the Leah family story as part of an appeal to raise the £9,362 needed every day to keep its services running. Only 21 per cent of funding comes from government.

Georgia and Ruby Leah.   

The Hospice say…

£13 could go towards a week’s worth of tea and coffee for families, helping them feel at home in the Hospice.

£38 could go towards specialist medical training to effectively manage patients’ pain, enabling people like Leon to feel more like themselves at a time when every moment matters.

£740 could pay for one night’s stay on our ward, giving families like Georgia’s dignity and space to make special memories.

* Visit the Hospice website to donate.

Alfred’s Bar and Dine Quiz Nights

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Regulars at Alfred’s Bar and Dine are becoming film and television quiz buffs.

Monthly quizzes at the town centre venue have raised more than £1,500 so far for East Cheshire Hospice.

Cult American television sitcom Friends was the theme for the latest quiz as customers tested their knowledge on six young adults living in Manhattan.

Disney films, Harry Potter and Gavin and Stacey have been other themes at the fun nights.

Alfred’s deputy manager Craig Trodden.

The quiz master is Liv Poole, who owns the Quizzly Bears, and there are prizes for the winners.

The next quiz is on Tuesday, August 6, with music, film and television from the 2000s decade as the theme.

To reserve a place call 01625 420010 or message on social media. Entry is £2 per person or £10 for a table of up to six.

General manager Louise Anderson said: “A lot of our customers have a connection with the Hospice through family or friends, so we’re delighted to help out in this way.

“The Hospice is a great local charity which is why we’re doing what we can to support it. The quizzes have been really popular and we’d like to thank everyone for their support.”

Follow Alfreds, located at Park Green, on their socials to keep up to date with future quizzes.

Golfer Liz Stott takes on incredible golf challenge

Posted on by Becky Sidwell

Golfer Liz Stott is the latest member of her family to undertake a tough sporting challenge.

Husband Chris has sailed across the Atlantic, while sons Andrew and James have also pushed themselves to the limit with their own tests of endurance.

Chris with sons James (left) and Andrew on their Atlantic adventure.

Not to be outdone, Liz played 72 holes of golf on the longest day to raise funds for East Cheshire Hospice.

Liz teed off at 6 am on Friday June 21 and sank her final putt 13 hours later.

Friend Celia Stanley, who works in the lottery team at the Hospice, played the last of four rounds with Liz who walked the course.

Other members of The Tytherington Club who either caddied or played alongside Liz were Jill Hone, Jane Ambler, Beth Attwell, Sue Hunter, Fiona Weems, Kath Lees, Anne Dutoy and Marg Jordan.

The transatlantic crew with Chris Stott (second from left) and Bryan Hammond (far right).

Liz donated £5 to the charity for every lost golf ball meaning an additional £30. The Tytherington club team gave £200, one of many donations.

Sporting activity runs in her family. On the longest day three years ago, son Andrew cycled from his home in Southampton to Macclesfield, while younger brother James completed his first ironman in Barcelona last year.

Meanwhile, Chris is almost home after sailing with their two sons from Bermuda, where Andrew lives, to the Azores.

Liz on the 18th green at The Tytherington Club.

Chris is bringing home the boat on which he and five others, including Bryan Hammond, from Macclesfield, sailed from Gran Canaria to St Lucia – the shortest transatlantic westward crossing – last November.

Liz, from Prestbury, said: “I come from a family who aren’t afraid to take on a challenge, though mine wasn’t quite as adventurous as theirs.

“I suppose I wanted to do my own challenge and raise some money while doing it. The Hospice is very special in our community.  I won’t be the only one who’s had friends and family who’ve been cared for there, so it was an easy decision to raise the money for the Hospice.”

Liz Stott with her supporters. 

“I want to thank The Tytherington Club for their support, including the loan of buggies, my friends for keeping me going and everyone who donated.

“It was a memorable day, even though it was exhausting.”

Liz with Fiona Weems (left) and Beth Attwell.

Ian Shoreman, Tytherington’s club director, said: “We’re all extremely proud of what Liz has done. Playing 72 holes on a difficult course is a long walk, requiring lots of effort for a great cause.”

* To donate visit www.justgiving.com/page/liz-stott-72holes

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