National Childbirth Trust Welwyn Garden City and District Branch

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Event Reports

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Midsummer Barn Dance

Once again, a very entertaining evening’s fundraising was had, as our Midsummer Barn Dance raised nearly £450.

The Band, Tam Lin from Letchworth, kept feet tapping and partners swinging and “Stripping the Willow” all night long, while our fabulous Hog Roast was provided by local farm Bridgit B’s and spit roasted by local caterers The Country Bumpkin.

A very generous “Butler and Chef” auction prize was kindly donated by top chef Tom Allen, and the auction itself, hosted by NCT Dad Andy Presland raised a fantastic £500.

Balloons and decorations were generously provided by Mrs Ruth Burr, and our farmyard table confetti was donated from

Many thanks to all those involved in the organisation and set up, and to all of our generous sponsors and advertisers, all of whom helped make the evening such a success.


The band was enjoyed by older...	...and younger people

With a delicious Hog Roast	looked on by our friendly scarecrow

We ceilidhed the night away	and "stripped the willow"

Many thanks to

and

for providing a thoroughly fun evening.

Cheeky Monkeys Tea Party


We dressed up as scary tigers.....		And a baby leopard and zebra

Everyone enjoyed some Jo Jingling!		And we won the fancy dress competition!

An action packed afternoon of jungle fun and games was had by all at the NCT Cheeky Monkeys Tea Party on Saturday 5th July 2008 at Applecroft Children’s Centre and School, WGC.

The WGC Branch joined in with the NCT’s fundraising campaign to raise £182 which will be split between local and national activities to support parents through pregnancy, childbirth and the early years.

Families enjoyed crafts, activity sessions, home-made cakes and games as well as a jungle fancy dress competition judged by Selena Lester of Monkey Music. Selena says, "It was impossible to judge as everyone looked so cute and had made so much effort with their costumes." And with a selection of terrifying tigers, a monkey, leopard, zebra and tarantula - it's easy to see why!

Our Cheeky Monkey tombola was a big hit due to some generous donations from local advertisers Tumbletots, Mini IQ, John Lewis and Music Train – not forgetting the big bunches of bananas on offer too! All 200 tickets were sold with parents and children returning again and again to try and win the top prizes!

We also had a colouring competition judged by Jo Jingles, stalls, a baby corner, animal bowling and our new Chair Jo displaying yet another skill as jungle face painter!

The tea party took a lot of organization, planning and effort from our volunteers and families who worked tirelessly to set up the event. More hands really does make a difference so volunteers are always desperately needed and will be plied with cake and free refreshments!

A big thanks to Applecroft School and Anne Peck at the Children’s Centre, all those who donated gifts, ran activity sessions and helped on the day to make our Cheeky Monkeys’ tea party such a success!

Harvest Ball

On Saturday 29th September, NCT WGC held a Harvest Ball in the Meadow Marquee at Tewin Bury Farm Hotel.

The night was a huge success, with over 150 guests enjoying a ‘sparkling reception’, a wonderful 3 course dinner, with wine, and live music from the Top Hat Band.

Further entertainment was provided in the games area, with a Scalextrix racetrack and casino table, as well as a generously donated raffle and after-dinner auction.


Golden Hat Girls	Jo and James - Ball Helpers

Guest photographs are available to purchase by our resident photogapher Angela Bonner. Should guests still wish to buy photographs of the event, please view our supplementary page here containing thumbnail proofs of all pictures taken by Angela on the night, and contact Angela directly, she will be able to send you proofs for review and purchase.

Staggering £4000 proceeds from this event funded our public information campaign for Maternity, Women and Children's Services Changes across Hertfordshire , including the Public Meeting held on 15 September.

NCT WGC would like to thank all our generous sponsors, donors and the Tewin Bury Farm Hotel for making this event such a huge success.

Ladies Fashion Show - March 2007 and back again by popular demand, March 2008

Once again our branch enjoyed a fundraising social evening, on Thursday 8 March 2007, in conjunction with the Katwalk Company (based in Enfield), we held a Fashion Show at Stanborough School, WGC. This was so popular it was repeated again on Tuesday 18th March 2008 at Fairway Golf Complex, Panshanger, WGC.
Six models (mums that are branch members) modelled a selection of high street brand name ladies clothes, which were for sale at a discounted rate afterwards.
Hair and beauty was provided by Sally Arnold the Mobile Hairdresser and Denise Gupta from Virgin Vie, and raffle prizes were generously provided by various local businesses, including Frankies Florist, Gro-group, John Lewis, Lion in the Sun, Spirit of Nature, Blooming Marvellous, and Alex Delyfer. £350 was raised to support our branch services. Thankyou to our glamorous models, to all who provided raffle prizes and services, and who helped on the night, to make it another successful and fun evening for the branch.

Fashion Show image

Christmas Meal 2006

Wednesday 6th December 2006, the committee had a well-deserved rest and enjoyed a fine Christmas meal at Bush Hall Restaurant, Mill Green, in a private room no less! A good evening and feast was had by all. Our Christmas meal has become a regular feature of the branch calendar and all branch members are welcome to come along to join us in future.

Ladies Indugence Evening

13 July 2006 - Well, what a night it was! This is to say a very big Thank You to all our fantastic supporters, friends and sponsors. We hoped everyone had a chance to relax and pamper themselves with some of the beauty treatments and massages on offer. Or even better, indulge in a spot of retail therapy - all for a very worthy cause. We would also like to thank all our volunteers and friends who worked tirelessly to publicise the event, sold tickets to the public, bought tickets themselves, which ultimately made the night the success it was. A fantastic sum of approx. £800 was raised. This will enable us to continue to provide, among other things, first rate ante-natal classes, breastfeeding counsellors, post-natal support activities such as locally-run Bumps & Bundles groups and coffee groups. These services are offered to the general public, not just NCT members.

All the generous sponsors who donated raffle prizes:
● Frankie’s Florist (Welwyn Gdn City) ● Avent ● mumstheword.com ● Learning Curve ● the First Years ● Yorkshire Teas ●

And the superb therapists and stall vendors who made it a night to remember:

● Angela Batten ● Ann Rozansky ● Annette Marshall ● Carole Vallance ● Caroline Partridge ● Carrie Hills ● Christine Simmons ● Diana Walsh ● Felicia Banks ● Gina Parsons ● Jenny Ford ● Jessica Seagreen ● Karen McMenemy ● Kate Edmondson ● Korin Fox ● Nicola Carney ● Patricia Atwood ● Roslin Clemison ● Sapna Sheth ● Sonja Yunus Lum ● Yvonne Gordon ● Neways (Amy Daws) ● Debbie Rooney ● Haslina Bates ● Jane Smith ● Xam Accessories (Julie Nicholas) ● Food for Thought Delicatessen (Lani Singleton) ● Inspirations (Linda Bosman) ● Lisa Lorton ● Phoenix Cards ● Neha Mistry ● Rose Fuller ● ujulondon (Sally Davidson) ● Sav Nicolaou ● Mini IQ (Shelley Hamilton) ● Virgin Vie (Susan Poole) ●

50th Anniversary Family Fun Day/Tea Party

On Sunday 14th May, the branch held a family fun day to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the NCT. The event was held at the Next Generation Health Club in Hatfield and was attended by around 120 parents and 90 children. It was a very enjoyable afternoon with loads for everyone to do.


The babies had a great time in their very own designated baby corner with lots of mats and toys out.	The under 2's enjoyed baby signing and music sessions as well as making musical shakers.

The 2-5yr olds participated in dance and yoga sessions and many got their faces painted. A number of children entered the colouring competition and prizes were given to the two best. The afternoon finished off with a raffle and a children's entertainer, although he managed to make the adults laugh just as much as the children!!	In between all that there was swimming and use of the Club's facilities which many families made use of, and when a rest was needed there were plenty of drinks and cakes to enjoy.

Thank you to all those who came along and supported the branch and to the volunteer helpers on the day, as without their hard work the event wouldn't have been possible.

As well as a great opportunity for local parents and their children to meet others from their locality and have fun, the event has helped raised money to enable even more parents and expectant parents to benefit from the information, support and services that many parents have already received from the NCT over the last 50 years.

Thanks also to Next Generation Club for kindly allowing us to use their excellent facilities to hold the event, and to all the organisations that kindly did a taster session or donated a raffle prize: