During the past few months, local dynamic duo, Steve 'Ozzy' Bond and Gary Davies and their friends have been holding a series of fundraising events to raise money for Acorns Children's Hospice, a charity that cares for terminally ill children and gives support to their families.

Due to the success of a previous Race Night, another was held at the Man of Ross Inn on Saturday evening and all but two of the races were fully sponsored by friends and local businesses by the time the programmes were printed, with further sponsorship coming in on the night itself and a total of £830 was raised. As well as the exciting races, an auction was also held and people happily bid for an Aston Villa shirt which was donated and signed by the current Aston Villa first team. The donation of the team strip came about as Gary and Ozzy have also organized a charity football match between a local team and the Aston Villa Veterans which is due to take place at the John Kyrle High School on 10th October. Admission will be by programme, which will be available by contacting Ozzy on 07920 819387 or Gary on 07738 999278.

On August 29th the guys are undertaking a sponsored fancy dress cycle ride, a fifteen mile run beginning from the Man of Ross, stopping at the Harp Hoarwithy for lunch then ending at the Man of Ross where there will be a barbecue. And not only that, for local man Steve, 'Scotty' Ellis has volunteered to undergo a charity head and beard shave to further boost the funds. These generous gents work for Haigh Engineering who have already donated equipment worth around £2,400 to Acorns but the guys are looking for sponsors for the cycle ride and would appreciate a call on the numbers given above. They have so far raised approximately £5,000 and are hoping to have raised £10,000 by the end of their campaign. Please help them to achieve their goal.