Blog

Saturday evening's Henley Living Advent Calendar took place, as always, at 6.15pm, though this evening, we were at a new venue, the Leander Club on the banks of the River Thames. Leander is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and home to Oceans Project Patron, Olympic Rower, and Leander's first female Captain Debbie Flood.

It wasn't long before folks started to arrive, and they were certainly welcomed by hot mince pies and hot Pimms, provided by tonight's venue Leander Club, and tonight's partner Brakspeare.

We had some wonderful entertainment this evening, courtesy of the Henley Rock Choir, which the audience certainly seemed to enjoy, even asking for an encore! Followed by Town Counsellor, Town Mayor, and Santa drawing this evening's raffle, with two spectacular prizes.

The first prize was a three course dinner for two and bottle of house wine at the Leander Club, and the second prize was a £50 voucher to spend at the Leander Shop. In total, I believe we have now raised just over £2000 in our first week of the Living Advent, fantastic news for the four beneficiary charities: Poppy Appeal, Regatta for the Disabled, Henley Youth Club, and Oceans Project.

Oceans Project portion of funds raised, will go towards the build of our 23 foot boat Mr Toad, which will be used every year to row across an ocean, to raise funds to provide free, online education to young people aged 5-19, not just in Henley, but worldwide, to over 17,000 students, some of whom have little or no access to any form of education.
Their first row takes place, exactly 6 months from Saturday, and will take them just over 8 months to row under their own human power across one third of the planet's surface, from the USA to Australia. Proceeds for each of their rows will be split 50/50 between Oceans Project and the Thai Children's Trust.

Sunday's Living Advent Calendar takes place at the prestigious Phyllis Court, 6:15 p.m, please be early as space is limited, and entrance will be on a first come first served basis.