Coffee morning (with cyclists) raises £500 for cancer support charity

MORE than £500 was raised during a Macmillan coffee morning at Christ Church in Henley on Saturday.
The event was a collaboration between Henley Rotary Club and two penny-farthing cyclists, Matt Richardson and Bill Pollard.
About 50 people had tea, coffee and homemade cakes, which were served in the Pither Hall from 10.30am to noon.
There was a raffle with prizes including gin from Tesco, dinner with champagne at the Hart Street Tavern, two books from the Bell Bookshop and handmade cards by artist, Kirsten Jones.

The cycling pair, who wore top hats, tweed jackets and silk neck scarves, were invited to join the morning to help them raise funds for their second fundraising challenge in April.
Mr Richardson and Dr Pollard will travel 900 miles on the late nineteenth-century large-wheeled bike from Land’s End to John o’ Groats, riding through England, Wales and Scotland in a variety of period-style outfits. They hope to raise about £50,000.
Mr Richardson, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2022 and treated in 2023, said: “Macmillan has been our chosen charity since we started riding. Henley Rotary Club asked us to come down and help their fundraising effort but, of course, it helps ours too — it’s a reciprocal benefit and we’re very pleased and grateful to be here.
“The funds will benefit all cancer sufferers, irrespective of what cancer they have. During my cancer treatment, I noticed immediately that the Macmillan logo is everywhere throughout the Royal Berkshire Hospital, even on the nurses’ uniforms. It became apparent just how much they support the whole cancer programme.”
Jeremy Gaunt, president of Henley Rotary Club, said the event reflected the club’s commitment to community and charity. He said: “These guys are a very visual part of Henley. They’re going off to do something amazing for charity, so we thought we would put it all together and a coffee morning seemed the best way to do it.”
The coffee morning followed a talk given by the duo two days earlier on January 15, when they spoke to about 150 guests in the Finlay Suite at Phyllis Court, raising about £500.
Exhibiting “a pantomime version” of themselves, they spoke about their ride from Henley to the Eiffel Tower in Paris in June last year. This was their first fundraising challenge and raised more than £24,000.