Plastered 2013 - Birmingham Children's Hospital - Cancer Centre Appeal

Imagine you are 7 years old and going into hospital tomorrow to start treatment to get rid of your cancer. You don't understand what is going on, you're worried about leaving your friends or what is going to happen about missing school.  Are your mum and dad going to be allowed to stay overnight?

So when you arrive to a bright, child-friendly and fun unit which has playrooms for you to make new friends, spacious bedrooms for you and your family and a brand new suite for when you need to have your chemotherapy, it makes a massive difference to calming your nerves and helping you respond positively to the 100s of visits you're likely to make during the course of your treatment. But unfortunately The Children’s Hospital current cancer unit is not as described above. Instead, it is over 30 years old, and demand has outgrown capacity.

They are looking to create one of the largest Children's Cancer Centres in the UK and need to raise £4m to improve the experience of patients, their families and the staff who care for them. So, a fundraising event was organised by by HNS Signs, Braddons Decorators and Finesse Services and sponsored by many others.   Plastered 2013 was held at Edgbaston Stadium and was an evening of fundraising fun and entertainment.

Guests arrived to the beautiful sound of Michelle Dalton, Harpist

and were magically entertained by Mark Barber, iNFiNiTi

Darren Maddy was the Guest MC and kept the guests entertained throughout Dinner ....

... and an Auction with Stephen Whittaker from Fellows helped raise more money, with some great products donated, including Burlesque lessons from Anna - who gave TWO sessions of burlesque lessons for up to ten people, each raising over £400!

The evening finished off perfectly with music from Hannah and Elliot .....

and Partners in Crime....

We don't have the final figures yet to let you know how much was raised for this fantastic cause, but will update our Blog as soon as we know. What we do know is that this was a really fabulous evening, with many people and organisations giving up their time and digging deep into their pockets, to help the Birmingham Children's Hospital create a light, spacious and purpose built unit for patients who come from as far as John O'Groats or Lands End for the very best treatment in the UK.

 We've tried to mention as many people who helped with this event as possible - but if we have missed anyone who gave up their time for this great cause and you would like a mention, then please get in touch.  If you were at the event and would like to order any prints, don't forget ColourStone Photography are donating 10%. And if you can help by giving a donation, then please click the balloons!

The Great Gatsby Event - Great Fundraising and Networking!

We were recently very honoured to be asked to cover the photography for The Great Gatsby Ball, a fundraising event for The Ryan Cockbill Trust. July the 20th 2006 was a life-changing day for Ryan, his family and friends.

At the youthful age of 16 Ryan tragically broke his neck in a swimming pool accident, sustaining a compression fracture of his 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae causing  tetraplegia, paralysis from the chest down. Ryan is unable to walk and has limited reach and dexterity due to the use of his arms being severely impaired.

Before his accident Ryan was a dynamic individual, with a passion for cooking and sailing. One minute he was fit, active and healthy, the next minute he was paralysed, unable to move and in need of 24/7 care for the rest of his life. Since his accident Ryan has had many achievements, and represented Team GB (shooting) in the London 2012 Paralympics.  He was a Torchbearer, carrying the Torch through part of Birmingham City Centre.

In 2013 Ryan won the Gold medal during an international air rifle competition in Turkey, and set a new World Record. Ryan has set his sights on Rio for 2016. Each year, amongst other fundraising events for the Ryan Cockbill Trust, an Annual Dinner and Dance is held at the 1874 Suite of Aston Villa FC.  

Fundraising is crucial for Ryan, in order to help him achieve his goals and help provide equipment that will greatly help him become more independent. This year, the theme for the Annual Dinner was the Great Gatsby.  The evening was filled with fun and laughter, and many people kindly donated their time and organisational skills to help make the evening another huge success.

 Here are a few images to give you an idea .....

The band gave their time to come along from the University of Birmingham Music Society.  With Andrew Spirrett on the trombone, the band were fantastic and really helped set the atmosphere for the evening.

Raffle prizes were kindly donated by Fairlawns Hotel and Spa in Aldridge, The Black Country Museum and BuyAGift, to name but a few.  The Trust would like to give a huge thank you to all who donated.

Karen, Ryan's mom, does a fantastic job organising these events and would like to thank all their friends and family who help each year.  Her friends, David and Ann Webster are a huge support to her, as are many family members who continue to support Ryan and the Trust. Photographs from the Great Gatsby Ball 2013 can be purchased from our website - please contact Ryan or Karen Cockbill for the password.  

All profits go to The Ryan Cockbill Trust. If you would like more information on how you can get involved and support Ryan, or would like to be invited to any fundraising events, then please contact ryan@trct.uk.com or visit www.theryancockbilltrust.com

Do we judge a website by its cover?

We are always told we shouldn't judge a book by its cover - but we all do it and these days websites are judged in much the same way. Your website is as important as your Receptionist greeting your customers or the person answering your telephone.  The first few minutes IS when your potential customer will decide whether to talk to you, or go elsewhere. So when our daughter, Charlotte, who is successfully building her career as a patisserie chef in London, suggested creating her own website we knew just what was needed to set her in the right direction - some great images.

Charlotte wanted to promote her new services - teaching how to make delicious cakes and pastries - and we found two perfect youngsters, who happen to be our youngest girls and who just love to eat Charlotte's cakes. Now, as much as we love to travel we are right at the beginning of our busiest time, the wedding season, so time was not really on our side to travel from our home town of Aldridge in the West Midlands to London for the shoot.  Charlotte comes to visit often so the solution would be, naturally, to do the photo shoot during one of her visits.  Only one problem - her kitchen is in London! "Ask and I shall find" said Tina, my business partner, wife, and chief organiser.  She contacted Roz and Stuart at Braveen Catering in Walsall who very kindly agreed to lend us their commercial kitchen for an hour or two. Here are a few images from the shoot.

If you would like more information about catering for business and private functions in and around Walsall, West Midlands then please contact Roz or Stuart at Braveen Catering Solutions on 01922 682141 or 07900895759.

If you would like more information about baking lessons in and around London, or catering for small events in this area, then please contact Charlotte at Coral Bakehouse

We are looking forward to the food shots on Charlotte's next visit - and tasting the cakes!