The One With The Mayor and The Monster Raffle

Hi everyone,

It's more than a little late I'm afraid, but finally here is the post about the totally amazing day we had at our table top sale and charity raffle at the Corn Exchange in Hailsham on Saturday 26th February...
After under three weeks of preparation and much running around like crazy people, the early morning was upon us and with it the day of our event. Having spent the previous few weeks securing a license for the raffle, organising the venue, and persuading some very kind and very generous local businesses to provide us with our prizes, finally standing in the middle of our hall filled with fantastic stalls and local shoppers brought quite a smile to our faces.

Doors opened at ten and it wasn't long before a steady flow of people (all generously making a 50p donation to the Three Peaks Fund) were perusing the wares for sale and clamouring to buy tickets for the brilliant raffle to be drawn later in the day. We must say at this point a very big thank you to the lovely Steven Hayes (boyfriend of our very own Kelly) who braved the chilly weather outside to sell tickets on the street and entice anyone in the vicinity to come and join in the fun.

Delicious home-made sausage rolls, cakes and biscuits made by our very own Mel and Julie were snapped up in no time at all, and we were delighted by how little of our bri-a-brac we had left to take home. Other stall holders did equally well, with Jams and clothing being particularly popular with the Hailsham folk.

By the middle of the day our children's entertainer arrived, and a mini-disco and dancing competition ensued for our little ones who had a whale of a time.

Before there was time to blink, 2pm dawned and Hailsham Mayor, Councillor Robin Kempe arrived with his lovely wife to draw the tickets for our lucky winners, but with almost thirty prizes in the end it wasn't going to be over any time soon! Ticket after ticket was drawn and prize after prize chosen, shrieks of delight filled the room (including shrieks of a different kind when my six year old daughter stood on the Mayor's foot - oops!), and finally after almost an hour... we were done with only the tidying up and going home left to do.



The day was not only great fun but an incredible success with just under £900 going to our Three Peaks Fund in aid of Meningitis Trust. We must make sure we say our thank you's so here goes...

A MASSIVE MASSIVE THANK YOU! to...

• The Corn Exchange Hailsham for use of their venue and their willing and very kind help.
• Hailsham Town Mayor Councillor Robin Kempe for drawing our splendid raffle.
• The family, friends and staff of Chalvington Communications, without you there would have been nobody to put our posters up and collect all that lovely money!
•  Our very VERY generous donators of prizes; Sue van Heuvelen Herbalife, Forever Living, Freedom Leisure, Hotel Pelirocco, Royal Eastbourne Golf Club, Leeford Place Country House Hotel, Southdown Personal Training, Gate Court Foods, Green DIY, Brighton and Hove Golf Club, D B Domestics, D J Eade, Sara York, Steve Leonard, Knockhatch Adventure Park, Hailsham Cellars, Eastbourne Borough Football Club, Beauport Park Golf Club, Posh Nails & Beauty, the Cavendish Hotel, A M Cleaners, and Somefield Polegate (you can see why the raffle took a while - some of them gave more than one item!).
• The brilliant stall holders - we hope you'll join us next year!
• And finally the very generous people of East Sussex - you are fantastic.

Fundraising is really starting to take off, but we still have quite a way to go if we are going to reach our target.

If you are ready to make a donation - thank you VERY much and please go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/ChalvingtonComms
Your support helps not only our endeavours but contributes to a very worthy cause too.

Until next time.

Team Chalvington x

The One With All The Prizes

Hi,

Thank you very much for visiting our blog page. If you've looked for this entry specifically it means you've probably bought some of our raffle tickets and are checking out the GREAT prizes we have to offer...

The draw is being held at the Corn Exchange in Hailsham, East Sussex on Saturday 26th February 2011, with the winning tickets being picked by the Mayor at 2.00pm.

PRIZES AND ENTERED TICKETS WILL BE DRAWN AT RANDOM

This post will be updated regularly, with prizes being added as they are donated.

Good luck to you all,

The Chalvington Team

1. Enjoy a night for two in one of the incredible themed bedrooms courtesy of Hotel Pelirocco, the original rock 'n' roll boutique hotel. Recently awarded 5/5 by a national newspaper magazine, you're sure to have the time of your life!

http://www.hotelpelirocco.co.uk/

2. Family Entry to Knockhatch Adventure Park in Hailsham: A fabulous day out with so many activities you'll be planning your return visit before you leave.

 http://www.knockhatch.com/

 3. A delicious dinner for two - courtesy of our very generous host - The Corn Exchange Hailsham.

01323 442290

4. A fabulous wine basket, courtesy of Hailsham Cellars, stockists of a wide variety of excellent wines, beers and spirits for all occasions: 

http://www.hailshamcellars.com/

5 and 6. Family match pass, generously donated by Eastbourne Borough Football Club - enjoy the nation's favourite game on your doorstep:

WE HAVE TWO OF THIS PRIZE TO BE WON

http://www.eastbourneboroughfc.co.uk/

7. A round of golf for two courtesy of Beauport Park Golf Course - Take in the scenery on their stunning course, while enjoying the round with a buddy of your choice:

http://www.beauportparkgolf.co.uk/

  8. A fab new kettle, generously donated by DB Domestics of Eastbourne - check out the comprehensive range of products from your local Euronics Centre: 

http://www.dbdomestics.com/

 

9. A fantastic £80.00 voucher to spend on jewellery of your choice courtesy of D J Eade in Eastbourne, with so many beautiful pieces it's going to be hard to choose!

 

10 and 11. A family swim session at ANY Freedom Leisure Pool, generously donated by Freedom Leisure - to find their locations and find out about their excellent facitlites go to: 

http://www.freedom-leisure.co.uk/

WE HAVE TWO OF THIS PRIZE TO GIVE AWAY

12 and 13. Kick-start your new healthy lifestyle with a one hour personal training session, courtesy of Southdown Personal Training - experienced and qualified instructors will take excellent care of you: 

http://www.southdownpersonaltraining.co.uk/

WE HAVE TWO OF THIS PRIZE TO GIVE AWAY

14. Pamper yourself with a manicure, generously donated by Posh Nails & Beauty, Eastbourne - with many other wonderful treatents on offer we're sure it won't be your last vist!:

http://www.poshnailsbeautyeastbourne.co.uk/

  

15. Escape to the picturesque surroundings and enjoy a night for two in the Bridal Suite courtesy of Leeford Place Country House Hotel. Why not treat yourself to a meal in their superb restaurant and bask in the peace and quiet of the beautiful location.

http://www.leefordplace.co.uk/

16. Perfect for spring-cleaning, and generously donated by Green D I Y of Uckfield, a Karcher Pressure Washer is the perfect tool for the job. Stockists for all your home DIY and gardening needs.

01825 760139

17. Feeling peckish? Don't panic, the lovely people at Gate Court Food Services have very kindly given us a luxury food hamper for one of our lucky winners. Specialists in wholesale food supply they serve our local hotels, school, restaurants and much more.

www.gatecourtfood.co.uk



18. While away the hours and take in the stunning scenery with your favourite golfing friend with a round for two, courtesy of the historic Royal Eastbourne Golf Club.



www.regc.co.uk/

 

19. We couldn't hold a raffle and not give something away ourselves...and as we're telecomms specialists...

http://www.chalvingtoncomms.co.uk/

 

20. Enjoy a round of golf for four, courtesy of Brighton and Hove Golf Club. The beautiful downland course is home to the oldest golf club in Sussex.

http://www.brightonandhovegolf.co.uk/

21. This prize is one we are very excited to be unveiling on the day. Our very own Three Peaks team member Steve is creating a very appropriately themed mountain cake for one lucky winner...I believe there will be strong competition for this as he is quite a baker!

 

22. Relax beautiful surroundings courtesy of the Cavndish Hotel Eastbourne, with a delicious afternoon tea for two.

http://www.cavendishhotel.co.uk/

23. Perfect timing for this prize, home carpet cleaning kindly donated by A M Cleaners of Eastbourne.

0845 683 8406

24. To share or not to share - that is the question! Courtesy of Somerfield in Polegate:

Champagne and Chocolates - yummy!

01323 489634

PLEASE NOTE: PRIZES ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, ALL PICTURES ARE FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY.

 

The One With The Exciting News

Exiciting news everyone.

We have booked and our currently organising our first big fundraising event...in less than three weeks - we don't do things by half!

On Saturday 26 February 2011 we will be holding a table top sale, children's activities and MASSIVE charity raffle all in aid of our three peaks fund for Meningitis Trust, at the Corn Exchange in Hailsham. Over the next few days you will see our posters appearing in your local area, and we are delighted that the Mayor has agreed to draw our raffle for us.


We have excellent prizes to be won... from hampers and carpet cleaning to personal training sessions and hotel stays, the list of prizes is growing by the day, and we hope to have tickets on sale in the next week (license permitting from the very kind people at Wealdren District Council).

If you'd like to book a table, don't forget to email us: cfc@chalvingtoncomms.co.uk or call and speak to Kelly or Amie on 01323 440555. Reservations are already being placed so make sure you don't miss out on your space!

If you're ready to make your sponsorship/donation a HUGE thank you for your generosity - please go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/ChalvingtonComms.

In the meantime we are really looking forward to seeing you at our event this month, we're particularly excited about this one as it involves our charitable organisation Chalvington for Charity, and the ENTIRE staff are pulling together and working very hard to get everything organised on the day (our MD is even coming back from her half term holiday early so she can be there (thank you Julie).

As always thank you for your interest in us and your support - until next time...

The Chalvington Team

The One With the Wallaby and the Pig

Hello again everyone.

Last Sunday was our first official team training walk.  After three hours and eight miles of walking we were very happy to catch sight of our cars, and to have survived our first outing across the South Downs in East Sussex. But what about the Wallaby and the Pig? I should probably start from the beginning...

Stunning Views

At 9.30 we met bleary-eyed (it was a Sunday don't forget!) to drive in convoy to our starting point where we excitedly changed into walking boots (some a little too new for comfort...) backpacks, and a variety of interesting hats. Two men,  six women (we had some extra company) and a dog headed for our first hill, lots of huffing and puffing, and the virgin steps of our adventure together.

The lovely (and very brave) Honey

Which way from here?

It's probably sensible to tell you at this point that we are of very mixed fitness levels...

Penny and Claire

Mel, Claire and  Steve all completed the walk as if they hadn't been any where - it turned out that Steve was also carrying a backpack that weighed about the same amount as a small child (I have two so can feel confident in my estimation). Julie seemed to get on fine (we haven't heard any creaks in the office) and Penny and I finished  with the aches already starting to set in (a few days later and we are just about moving normally again).

Steve and the monster backpack (hoping he might give me a lift in that if I get tired some time...)

Luck was definitely on our side - a beautiful clear day and scenery lovely enough to take the chill of the January wind from our minds saw the time (and miles) pass fairly quickly - helped in no small part by the quick hot chocolate stop at the cafe we discovered en route (purely for the purposes of energy replenishment of course). Coupled with the entertainment of Julie's very small dog gallantly charging into the middle of a herd of not very small cows, and being surprisingly reluctant to come back we merrily followed the route that some of us had taken many times before. Except it wasn't...

Pub :)

While we didn't get 'lost' as such we found ourselves walking through a farm, or rather a small zoo. Penny, a city girl - and most definitely not a fan of animals found herself experiencing her first close encounter (of the agricultural kind) with cows (which we joked would attack if they heard us speak, and had a notorious disliking of the colour pink - the look on her face was priceless...check out the new hair in the photos) sheep, and happening upon the Wallaby and the Pig, who appeared to be living in the company of a goat and a very hairy Shetland pony - again the very small dog was keen to get stuck in.

Julie, Honey, and their new piggy friend

A wallaby - in Eastbourne?

After much oohing and aahing, and having finally stumbled our way back to the road we regained our bearings and headed for home with the fit brigade (Mel and company) striding merrily and the not-so-fit brigade (Penny and I) bringing up the rear and feeling steadily more terrified of the challenge ahead, the developing blisters, stiffening legs and our assault on the Long Man of Wilmington which is planned in a couple of weeks.

Not too tired to smile

Monday morning was definitely interesting.  Despite the inability to walk down stairs without squeaking, none of us girls had gone so far as to wear anything on our feet other than the usual humerously high heels that grace the halls of Chalvington Towers on a daily basis. It will certainly take more than a few aches and pains to get us out of our stillettos!

We've had a great first outing but still have a long way to go not just in terms of fitness but fundraising too.

Slow... the sign doesn't mean us does it?

We hope you'll stay with us, our first community event will be announced early next week, so we hope to see lots of you there, and don't forget to share our links with as many people as you are happy to.

If you are ready to make a donation - thank you VERY much and please go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/ChalvingtonComms
Your support helps not only our endeavours but contributes to a very worthy cause too.

Until next time

Mel, Claire, Julie, Steve, Penny and Amie x

Meet the Walkers

Hi everyone,

Now that we have a few people following us, we thought it was about time you knew just who we are (the weird and the wonderful) and why we are embarking on this exciting challenge.

Please PLEASE remember to share this blog with as many people as you can - there's a really simple to use invite friends option at the top of the screen. We have plenty more to come and hope to get lots more support as we march towards our goal.

Our team of six adventurers are all from Hailsham-based company Chalvington Communications (www.chalvingtoncomms.co.uk), and while the ENTIRE staff are involved in the promotion and fundraising for the event the walkers are:

Name: Claire Baker

Age: 33

Job: Operations Director

Star Sign: Libra

Hobbies: Horse riding, running and eating

Which word would you use to describe yourself best: Bossy boots

Favourite Cheese: Cheese Strings

If you were an animal what would you be and why: A Koala bear - I love to cuddle

Pet Hate: Uneven tan lines!

Person you’d most like to have dinner with (dead or alive) and why: David Beckham – he doesn’t need to talk, I just want to look

Why are you doing the Three Peaks Challenge: To take part in a team event with my colleagues, get fitter and do something amazing for charity.

 

Name: Mel Baker

Age: 62

Job: Financial Director

Family/Status: Married

Star Sign: Virgo

Hobbies: Sailing, Walking, Badmington, Squash

Which word would you use to describe yourself best: Impatient

Favourite Cheese: St Augur

If you were an animal what would you be and why: A cat (in the Baker household) spoilt to death

Pet Hate: Nasty Smells

Person you’d most like to have dinner with (dead or alive) and why: Lauren - she is my little sweetie 

Why are you doing the Three Peaks Challenge: To help a worth while cause

   

Name: Julie Tindall

Age:38

Job: Managing Director

Family/Status: Married, 2 sproglets, Lauren 11 & Jacob 7

Star Sign: Aries

Hobbies: Rare mushroom picking

Which word would you use to describe yourself best: Determined

Favourite Cheese: Edam, no smelly cheeses allowed!

If you were an animal what would you be and why: Fluffy cat so that I could sit by an open fire all day and sleep

Pet Hate: Buses and lorries

Person you’d most like to have dinner with (dead or alive) and why: Ian Somerhalder from Vampire Diaries but not just dinner! Why? Do you really need to ask??!!

Why are you doing the Three Peaks Challenge: Firstly it is a real personal challenge for not only my fitness but to know that you have completed this will give me a great sense of achievement. The Chalvington team already work very well together but this will be a fantastic team experience. Secondly Meningitis can affect people of all ages so I think it is a great cause to raise money for. Thirdly I must be completely nuts!!

Name: Steve Leonard 

Age: 55          

Job: Telecommunications Engineer

Family/Status: Married (empty nesters)

Star Sign: Alpha Centauri

Hobbies: Watching paint dry, Egyptian PT & being sarcastic.

Which word would you use to describe yourself best: Analytical.

Favourite Cheese: John

If you were an animal what would you be and why: Praying Mantis, cos’ they are at peace with the world.

Pet Hate: Filling out questionnaires

Person you’d most like to have dinner with (dead or alive) and why: Nelson Mandela, Changed a country's changed a mind-set.

Why are you doing the Three Peaks Challenge: In memory of a little boy who died of meningitis. Donny Cooper 1980 - 1986 

Name: Penny Dryer

Age: 26

Job: Customer Services

Star Sign: Leo – Gerrrrr!!!!

Hobbies: Going to the gym, fly fishing & chess.

Which word would you use to describe yourself best: Bootylicious

Favourite Cheese: Dairylea

If you were an animal what would you be and why: A chicken, because hopefully at some point I would end up in Nandos – a taste sensation for the tongue.

Pet Hate: Roots and liars.

Person you’d most like to have dinner with (dead or alive) and why: Frank Sinatra – so he could sing to me.

Why are you doing the Three Peaks Challenge: To help raise a lot of money for a great charity as well as challenging myself and my fitness. 

Name: Amie Cook

Age: 31

Job: Officially I am the company Credit Controller, though I wear many other hats…

Family/Status: Married, 2 Children – Charlie 8 and Amelia 6

Star Sign: Aquarius

Hobbies: Baking HUGE cakes, Jogging (because of the cakes) and Yodelling

Which word would you use to describe yourself best: Whirlwind

Favourite Cheese: Not allowed to eat diary – makes me sneeze, but still prone to the occasional pizza binge…

If you were an animal what would you be and why: A Rhino, apparently I already have the skin of one (metaphorically not literally)

Pet Hate: Noisy eaters – yuk!

Person you’d most like to have dinner with (dead or alive) and why: Elvis – because he’s The King!

Why are you doing the Three Peaks Challenge: Having almost crippled myself doing the London Marathon in 2000, I feel enough time has passed for me to have another stab at personal injury in the pursuit of the great sense of achievement events like this bring. On a more serious note, Meninigitis is a devastating illness which affects us indiscriminately of age or gender, and any funds which can be raised to help tackle this and assist those who are directly affected are well worth a couple of nights without much sleep and achy legs at the end.

Thanks again for reading and for staying with us if you are already following or joining us if you are new. 

If this is your first visit to our blog don't forget to click 'follow' (if you don't have a google/twitter account it only takes a few moments to set up) and the blog notifications come straight to your normal email address.

We have already had some very generous donations to our sponsorship fund, so thank you Adrian, Nick and Babs you are all superstars.  If you haven't already made your donation but are ready to do so please go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/ChalvingtonComms  (copy and paste into your browser if it doesn't work when clicked) and follow the simple steps. We need to get to at least £2400 by 13 April 2011 so every penny counts! 

We have our first team training walk tomorrow and are all looking forward to letting you know how we get on - no doubt the accompanying pictures will bring you plenty of giggles as you see us all decked out in our very attractive walking gear...

Until next time... Claire, Mel, Julie, Steve, Penny and Amie x 

 

It all starts here...

Hi everyone,

Well I guess it really does all start here...

Just before Christmas we decided that 2011 was the year for us to do something BIG for charity. Ideas were bandied about, until someone (no names - Claire Baker) suggested the Three Peaks Challenge... Snowdon, Scafell Pike, and Ben Nevis... one after the other...and all within thirty six hours (a total of 25.7 miles and 9,619 feet). Meningitis Trust had an event scheduled which gave us the perfect opportunity to get on with it.

Excitement (and some dis-belief - are they mental?) rippled through the office, and eventually a group of us came forward and committed to the walk: Claire Baker, Mel Baker (Daddy of Claire), Julie Tindall, Steve Leonard, Penny Dryer, and me - Amie Cook.

A month into our training we are looking forward to our first team training walk on Sunday 30th January 2011 (8 miles - let's not overdo it just yet!). We will of course take you with us every step of the way (mobile signal permitting on the mountains...) and hope you enjoy hearing about our adventures as much as I am sure we'll enjoy having them.

Our biggest challeng at the moment is fundraising. With a target of £4000 (£2400 of which needs to be in a month before we go - 13th May by the way - 13 April for funds), we are looking to our family, friends, associates, and any of you other kind readers out there who would like to support our endeavours.

Thanks for reading - stay with us and if you're ready to make your donation please visit our sponsorship page at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/ChalvingtonComms 

The Chalvington Three Peaks Team