NEWS - FiSH Neighbourhood Care

Open Gardens 2019
Sunday 9th June was a marvellous day for our Open Gardens afternoon in East Sheen. The sun may not have shone very brightly but the buzz of conversation in every garden as neighbours introduced themselves to each other and discussed whether this plant was 'Angelica' or that rose was a 'Gertrude Jekyll' was heart-warming! Huge thanks to everyone who supported FiSH by generously opening their gardens, to the volunteers who helped in gardens or by pouring tea and Pimm's - and to all who visited the gardens. We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did!
This wonderful community event, enjoyed this year by over 700 people, has also been a fantastic fundraiser, raising over £10,000 before costs. We are most grateful to MESS for their support and to Savills' for their generous sponsorship.

Please support Graham in the Edinburgh Marathon

This year at FiSH we are extremely fortunate to have our very own marathon runner – Graham Baker. Graham is one of our trustees and on 26 May he will be running the Edinburgh Marathon to raise funds for us. Since joining us last year, Graham who is an accountant, has been working closely with Michael French our treasurer. Graham lives with his family in Sheen. He decided to take up running again after being inspired by his eldest son who ran the London marathon last year. Graham has been training hard for months and has overcome an injury to do this for us.

There is absolutely nothing easy about running 26.2 miles! Please encourage Graham to complete this fantastic feat for FISH and keep him going when the going gets tough, usually around mile 18! That’s when the body is really feeling the strain and runners can hit the infamous ‘wall’. What gets people over the line is the thought of the money they are raising for the causes they love.

So please help Graham raise as much as possible for FISH by sponsoring him.

On behalf of everyone at FiSH, good luck Graham and thank you for running for us.

Jenny Hughes receives British Empire Medal
Jenny Hughes has received her British Empire Medal in a ceremony held at The Tower of London. She was accompanied for this special occasion by her husband, Andy, and also Crispin O'Brien, Chair of FiSH.

''I was truly honoured to be recognised for this award and the ceremony today was a humbling experience to be with such a variety of people who have served their communities in so many amazing ways. Thanks to all those people who have made FiSH what it is today.''

Coffee Morning at Rick Stein Barnes
FiSH and the area’s top seafood restaurant proved to be a terrific combination on Wednesday 6th February. That’s when Rick Stein Barnes hosted a coffee morning to raise funds for FiSH Neighbourhood Care. Huge thanks to Paul Hough, General Manager and all his team for making us so welcome. Over 70 attended to consume coffee and cake and support the ‘FISHY’ raffle which included some super prizes including a voucher from Rick Stein, a lobster from The Barnes FiSH Shop, a luxury hamper and other goodies. The event raised a grand total of £786! Thank you to everyone who attended and made the event a success.

Popular art therapy programme to continue
FiSH Neighbourhood Care is stepping in with funding to enable the popular art workshops delivered by Picassos in the Park to carry on in Barnes. The workshops, which are open to people living with early stage dementia and their carers, will now continue this summer and offer participants a chance to be creative together. Classes will run on Tuesdays from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at the OSO Arts Centre. To find out more or book a place, please contact Liz on 020 8878 8100 or by email.

Tweets by @FiSHHelpBarnes

Queen's Award for Voluntary Service
The FiSH team made up of Micky Forster, Liz Wall, Sally Godstone, Shena Macdonald, Deidre Munro and Steve Chapman were delighted to represent the charity at a special presentation event for QAVS Winners from Greater London, kindly hosted by RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) at their London office in Bishopsgate on Tuesday 11th September 2018.

Micky collected the award from Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE, The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK and recognises the importance of our work with older people in Barnes, Mortlake and East Sheen to combat loneliness and social isolation. FiSH were among twenty winners of the Award in Greater London this year.

Barclays staff walking from Billingsgate to Barnes to fundraise for FISH
The Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics Team at Barclays Corporate Banking in Canary Wharf did a half marathon fundraising walk for FiSH on Monday 29th October. Some 20 individuals left East London at 08:00 and when they reach Barnes at lunchtime dropped into the Retro Café at St Michael and All Angels to help our volunteers. Led by Nikki Barrington, our ace fundraiser and marathon runner, the team challenged themselves to raise £3,000.