October 2022

I write this on October 28th 2022, exactly 3 years to the day since our lovely mum, nanna and wife was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer. For anyone who is new to this page, you can see from what we have written previously that we have raised money through walks, head shaves and through the generosity of so many people at mum's funeral. 

Mum fought cancer like an absolute warrior. Despite covid, chemo, a major operation and multiple lockdowns, her spirits remained high but sadly in February this year we lost her. The cancer returned and despite initially thinking it would be treatable, it turned out not to be the case and mum passed away peacefully at home. 

We now want to continue mum's legacy and we want to do so in a way that mum would have approved of. Having visited the amazing Ovarian Cancer Research Centre in Hammersmith Hospital we can see the impact that our fundraising has had on the research and development that is going on behind the scenes. Mum also now has her place on the Tribute Wall down there - we are so proud. 

We want to invite you all to attend a fund-raiser we are lovingly referring to as 'Gail's Gathering'. We are in the process of making the arrangements but already we have been blown away by the generosity of others. The fabulous Dammit Jack will be your entertainment for the night so bring your dancing shoes. Lumb Farm in Marehay have been super generous, offering us exclusive use of the venue for free (and lots of other support too, including a rather large collection bucket on the bar which they intend to fill multiple times so please bring plenty of cash!). We've upped our target to £8,000 as we intend to keep on working at this! 

The date is February 25th 2023. Party starts at 7 and last orders are around midnight. We are still working on the best way to collect payment for tickets but if you would like to come, please let Nic know on nicola@enableassessment.com and we'll notify you when all that is sorted. 

Take a look at the OCA website if you need persuading about what an amazing job they do:

https://ovarian.org.uk/

And ladies, please take a moment to watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJed5_aW5WU&feature=youtu.be

Update Feb 2022

As we write this we’ve just lost Gail, our wife, mum and nanna. This page has been live for some time and we were lucky enough to host Gail’s Gallivant at Carsington in 2021 and raised lots of money as a result. Cakes were baked, teas were poured and a raffle was run. Gail had a brilliant time and we count our blessings she got the chance to see so many of her friends then. 

Since then, Gail’s cancer returned and despite early signs that it was treatable, it quickly became apparent that this time, this dreadful disease had won. On February 5th at 8am, Gail died at home. Dave, Sarah and Nic were at her bedside and the passing was extremely peaceful and exactly as she would have wanted. 

Whilst Gail did love flowers, she has also been extremely grateful for the amazing treatment she received at the beginning of her illness. Without the research and advances in science we would have lost her a lot sooner. As a result, if anyone would like to, we would really appreciate you donating to Ovarian Cancer Action rather than sending flowers. The family will make sure Gail is surrounded by flowers on her final journey but will be showing their appreciation with a donation too.

Gail’s funeral will be held on February 28th, 11am at Amber Valley Crematorium, Swanwick with a wake afterwards at Morley Hayes. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.