Staff at the College raised £500 for charity at a very successful Staff Summer Lunch at the end of term. Fair weather enabled the event to take place mostly outside on the green.

Not everyone was prepared to brave the brief drizzle just as lunch was being served, and they retreated inside Leonardo House, but it didn’t take long before the sun was out again.

Staff brought picnic rugs and chairs, and entered into the spirit of the theme for the day, Hats.

Everyone had been invited to come in an imaginative hat, and creations ranged from balloon ‘hats’ to cowboy hats or feathery fascinators, some with outfits to match, but the creation that took the prize was a magnificent cake, complete with candles, worn by Julie Evans, from the School of Hospitality.

The Star Prize in the raffle, a Weber Bar-B-Kettle, was won by Chris Fiske, Health & Safety officer.

As a result of the generosity of all those who bought raffle tickets, the Staff Association raised nearly £500. £250 will be donated to each of this year’s charities: St Nicholas Hospice Care and the Alzheimer’s Society. The Staff Association raised nearly £1,000 at the Christmas lunch, so this brings the total of support for these charities to £750 each during the 2009/2010 academic year.