Red Noseday 2009
Last updated at 09:25, Thursday, 19 March 2009
SCORES of charitable folk across Tynedale took up the challenge of doing something funny for money last Friday as the district turned red for Comic Relief.
Fund-raisers donned costumes, painted their faces and did everything from baking cakes to having their heads shaved to raise money for the charity which supports projects both at home and abroad.
Head-shaving was the order of the day at Northumberland College’s Kirkley Hall campus, near Ponteland, and Ovingham Middle School.
At Kirkley Hall, engineering student John Kay (16) raised £50 by having his long locks reduced to a number one cut at the college’s hair studio by hairdressing student Paula Wilson.
Meanwhile at Ovingham, deputy head teacher Ian Lakey, had his head and moustache shaved for Comic Relief.
Year six teacher Neil Cole painted a red Mohican stripe on Mr Lakey’s head while Kerry Crozier, a qualified hairdresser, and teaching assistant at the school, dealt with the “trimming”.
Mr Lakey raised £450 which, added to funds raised by the pupils made a total of more than £1,600.
The pupils at Ovingham had fun participating in a sponsored silence, sponsored walks, and baking and selling cakes. Some pupils raised money by being tied together, and two pupils wore one large Red Nose Day t-shirt for the day!
A special Comic Relief quiz night and fancy dress event helped staff and customers at the Wellington public house, in Riding Mill, raise £444.
Over in Acomb, children from the first school and Little Oaks Nursery dressed as “litter bugs” for the day and secured sponsorship from parents to carry out a village litter pick, which raised over £370.
And their counterparts at Bellingham First School raised over £70 by spending the day wearing unusual hats and selling red noses.
In Gilsland, first school pupils competed to build the biggest tower of newspapers, cram the most items into an empty red nose box, and throw red noses at the headteacher to raise in excess of £50.
Working in red-themed costume, staff at the Reflections hair salons in Hexham and Corbridge raised a total of £155, while at the Corbridge nursery, Little Tinklers, pyjama-clad tots raised £150 and were treated to a magic show.
Students at Prudhoe’s Highfield Middle School baked cakes and biscuits to sell and raised £500, while pupils at Prudhoe West First School raised more than £260 through a sponsored snack afternoon and creating outrageous hats to wear throughout the day.
Meanwhile at Hexham East First School, children sold red noses and red nose day cakes, and held a raffle and a non-uniform day, which raised over £300.
Pupils at the town’s Sele First School helped raise more than £630 by coming to school in their pyjamas on Red Nose Day.
The event was the idea of year two pupil Scarlett Hartland. Parents dropping children off at school were also asked to donate for not wearing their pyjamas.
Staff from Hexham Children’s Centre also got into the spirit and raised more than £180 by washing cars in the town’s Marks & Spencer car park – dressed in their pyjamas.
Over at Tesco, local band The Peperamis, raised £165 in just three hours with their tribute to The Beatles outside the store, complete with convincing costumes.
Staff and service users at Hexham-based Northumbria Daybreak raised more than £117 by spending the day in fancy dress and enjoying karaoke sessions.
And the cash is still rolling in, with over £2,100 already in the coffers, thanks to Northumbrian Water staff across the district.
Employees of the company took part in a fancy dress dip in the Derwent Reservoir, a red hot chilli-eating challenge, spraying their hair red and a tombola and cake sale, to raise the cash.
And staff at Ponteland’s Sainsbury’s store took up the Comic Relief challenge with some gusto as they took store manager, Paul Bandeira, hostage and refused to release him until a ransom of at least £50 was raised.
As well as wearing the obligatory red wigs and noses, several members of male staff also volunteered to have their legs waxed, raising in excess of £700.
First published at 09:16, Thursday, 19 March 2009
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk
