THE LORD'S TAVERNERS CLUB NIGHT AT THE RACES, WARWICK RACECOURSE - 14TH JUNE 2010

Team up with The Taverners first 'club night at the races' took place at Warwick Racecourse on 14th June and was supported by many of the local cricket clubs. The event was supported by Ashley Giles, Ian Bell, Ant Botha, Darren Maddy, Gary Newbon and Dion Dublin and included Queen Alexandra College, which is a national college for people aged 16+ with visual impairment and other disabilities.

THE LORDS TAVERNERS EVE OF TEST DINNER, WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY GROUND - 5TH AUGUST 2010

The Lord’s Taverners Black Tie Dinner raises over £25,000

The Lord’s Taverners flagship fundraising event, the 2010 Eve of Test Dinner held in early August at the County Ground Edgbaston, raised more than £25,000 and was a ‘fantastic night for a great cause’ according to the charity’s Regional Chairman in the West Midlands.

370 people attended the Black Tie event – the 26th Eve of Test Dinner - which was hosted by The Lord’s Taverners, the official Charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports Charity.

Amongst the guests was a line-up of cricketing greats including fast bowling hero Darren Gough and Pakistan legends Mushtaq Mohammad and Mushtaq Ahmed, as well as Chris Tarrant, Ron Atkinson, Graham Taylor, Cyrille Regis, Dean Kielly, MJK Smith, Dennis Amiss, Nic Owen and Gary Newbon.

“The evening was a fantastic success,” said Trevor Foster, Regional Chairman for The Lord’s Taverners in the West Midlands, “and showed the West Midlands’ professional and business community at its spirited best, as they raised an incredible £25,000, being much needed funds for disabled and disadvantaged children, in spite of the peak holiday season and difficult economic climate.”

Among the many highlights of the evening, which was MC’d by radio and Test Match commentator Jonathan Agnew (Aggers), were two special Q&A sessions, the first involving Darren Gough and Pakistan international cricketers Mushtaq Mohammad and Mushtaq Ahmed, and the other with England and Warwickshire cricket star Ian Bell, who was quizzed by Aggers.

Long-time supporter of The Lord’s Taverners Chris Tarrant was presented on the night with the Star of Birmingham by The Lord Mayor of Birmingham.

“The Eve of Test Dinner is always a major event on The Lord’s Taverners fundraising calendar, and this year’s was no exception, particularly as 2010 is our Diamond Jubilee Year,” added Trevor.
 

THE LADY TAVERNERS FUN DAY, DRAYTON MANOR - 1ST JULY 2010

1st July 2010 saw the “famous five” Lady Taverners entertaining 30 children and 17 carers to a day out at Drayton Manor.

The “famous five” as President Rachel Heyhoe Flint called us, were Enid Hinton, Maeve Mallinson, Veronica Ralley, Rachel Heyhoe Flint and new Regional Chairman Ann Keepax.  Children from Penn Field, Tettenhall, Penn Hall and Greenpark schools in the Wolverhampton area had a fantastic day. The day was very kindly donated by Colin Bryan, owner of Drayton Manor Park.
After receiving their Lady Taverners caps and bottles of water, the children headed off to Thomas Land and the rest of the park. They were closely followed by the “famous five” Lady Taverners who thoroughly enjoyed the arrival of one of Thomas’s friends. Our own President Rachel, also joined the children on the Troublesome Trucks roller coaster ride...

After a full morning of fun, the children arrived for lunch, where they were greeted by Harrods “hoody” bears. Harrods had very kindly donated the bears and the children were thrilled to be taking them home. A bear was given to each school in order that they could offer it as a raffle or auction prize.

With a final photo of all the children, everyone headed off in different directions. Some to the zoo to see the penguins; others to enjoy more rides; before heading back to school, but everyone agreed that they had had a great fun day.

To see all the photos, that were very kindly taken by Steve Evans of SevenStar photography, please go to www.sevenstarphotography.co.uk and enter the following password on the login section... ladytavs. I think you will see just how much the children enjoyed their day.

The fundraising committee are meeting soon to look at future Midland Regional events, so watch this space.

Ann Keepax
Midlands Regional Chairman
Lady Taverners

REGIONS TOP CRICKETERS OVERCOME RIVALRY TO GET ‘GRIPPED’ BY THE LORD'S TAVERNERS DIAMOND JUBILEE FUNDRAISER

Two of the West Midlands’ greatest cricketing rivals – Warwickshire CCC and Worcestershire CCC – have put their competitiveness to one side to team-up in support of The Lord’s Taverners in a new fundraising initiative launched in celebration of the charity’s Diamond Jubilee year.

Warwickshire CCC captain Ian Westwood and Worcestershire CCC captain Vikram Solanki have given their backing to the scheme, which invites club cricketers to follow the lead of England captain Andrew Strauss and vice captain Alastair Cook and use the charity’s distinctive red, blue and green cricket bat grip.

The Lord’s Taverners, the official Charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports Charity, is currently celebrating its Diamond Jubilee and will donate £3 million this year alone to help give young people, particularly those with special needs, a sporting chance.

The ‘Get a Grip’ fundraising campaign is being piloted in the West Midlands with the support of Warwickshire CCC and Worcestershire CCC. The fundraising initiative invites cricket clubs and players across the region to ‘Get a Grip’ and raise funds to provide sporting opportunities for disadvantaged youngsters. The campaign is simple for clubs to get involved with, as the charity’s West Midlands Regional Chairman, Trevor Foster, explains:

“The Bat Grip campaign sees The Lord’s Taverners teaming-up with local cricket clubs across the West Midlands in this great fundraising initiative. It is incredible to see two of the region’s greatest cricketing clubs put their long-standing sporting rivalry to one side and support The Lord’s Taverners with this fundraising campaign.

“Clubs who sign-up to the campaign can request up to 30 Lord’s Taverners bat grips, as used by England captain Andrew Strauss and vice captain Alistair Cook, free of charge. The club will then distribute the bat grips to its playing members, who will in return pledge to raise money for their cricket club and the charity. At the end of the season, the club will keep half of the money raised to reinvest in their club, and donate the other fifty percent to The Lord’s Taverners.”

The charity is looking to attract upwards of 30 cricket clubs to take part in the Bat Grip campaign: “We hope this will enable us to raise at least £15,000 in the initiative’s first year, which would mean that a minimum of £7,500 will be directly ploughed back into grass roots cricket at a local level, and the other £7,500 distributed across the UK by The Lord’s Taverners,” explains Trevor.

Warwickshire CCC captain Ian Westwood and Worcestershire CCC captain Vikram Solanki jointly commented: “The Bat Grip campaign is a great initiative, which is easy for local clubs to get involved with and raise valuable funds for The Lord’s Taverners. Not only does the fundraising campaign reach out to cricketers at all levels and is set to benefit grass-roots cricket in the West Midlands, it will also contribute to helping disadvantaged youngsters across the country.

“This is the first, and probably likely last time, Warwickshire CCC and Worcestershire CCC will put their historical sporting rivalry to one side and join forces! But it’s for an excellent and very worthwhile cause!”

Trevor Foster added: “Prizes are available for the individual and cricket club who raise the highest amount of money. The top fundraiser will receive a signed Warwickshire CCC or Worcestershire CCC cricket bat and two tickets to Day 1 of England’s home Test Match against India at Edgbaston in 2011. For the club raising the most funds, it will receive 50 tickets to the Warwickshire CCC versus Worcestershire CCC Twenty20 group match at Edgbaston in 2011, and a Warwickshire CCC or Worcestershire CCC team signed shirt.”

For more information about – and to sign-up to – the ‘Bat Grip’ campaign, contact Alison Prosser, The Lord’s Taverners Tel: 07769 880 888, email: Alison.Prosser@lordstaverners.org. More information about The Lord’s Taverners is available at: www.lordstaverners.org.

For more information about Warwickshire CCC, contact: Abi Dollery, Head of Communications, email: abidollery@edgbaston.com and for more information about Worcestershire CCC, contact: Melinda Cooksey, PR and Communications Executive, email: melinda.cooksey@wccc.co.uk.
 

THE LORD'S TAVERNERS JOHN BRIGHT TROPHY

The Lord’s Taverners, cricket’s famous charity in its diamond jubilee year, has joined forces with the John Bright Trophy, Birmingham’s leading corporate cricket tournament.

Under its new name, The Lord’s Taverners John Bright Trophy, the tournament, sponsored by Birmingham investment fund managers Williams Williams de Broë, features 15 sides playing 33 fixtures at the picturesque Britannic Park ground in Moseley just a short drive from the Edgbaston Test ground.

To view news and results from Week 1-14 plus read the preview for the Final please click here
To view pictures from the semi-finals please click here
 

THE LORD'S TAVERNERS CHRISTMAS LUNCH, THE ICC, BIRMINGHAM - 10TH DECEMBER 2009

The Lord's Taverners West Midlands Region annual Sporting Christmas Lunch was hosted by Regional President Gary Newbon and National President Chris Tarrant. The lunch raise over £6,200 and was attended by over 300 of the region's leading executives at the ICC in Birmingham. Guests were entertained by former WBO Middleweight champion Chris Eubank, Sky Sports Presenter Richard Keys and footballers Kevin Phillips from Birmingham City and goalkeeper Dean Kiely from West Brom.

THE LORD'S TAVERNERS 'MJK' RETIRES FROM WEST MIDLANDS COMMITTEE

The former England and Warwickshire Captain, legend and one of the founder members of the West Midlands Region, Mike – MJK – Smith (HM 654) has retired gracefully from the regional committee after contributing enormously to its success since it was established 25 years ago.

At the Edgbaston Eve of Test Dinner attended by 550 in July, MJK was presented with a specially commissioned Bill Tidy cartoon featuring a number of fictitious characters and all with three initials.

MJK captained England for 25 of his 50 Tests served as Warwickshire CCC chairman for 12 years and is the last double international to date as he also represented England at Ruby in 1956.

THE LORD'S TAVERNERS EVE OF TEST DINNER

The West Midlands traditional Eve of Test Dinner held at the ICC Birmingham was attended by 550 guests. A host of celebrities from the world of sport and entertainment attended including Chris Tarrant, Jonathan Agnew, Chris Cowdrey, Matthew Hoggard, Jeff Thomson, Dean Jones, Ashley Giles, Gladstone Small, Ron Atkinson, Trevor Francis and Kevin Connelly. A special night was capped with guest appearances by Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison.

THE LORD'S TAVERNERS NEW SUPPORTERS LUNCH

Warwickshire County Cricket Club played host to a presentation and buffet lunch where guests learned more about the work of The Lord's Taverners in the Midlands.

Over fifty guests attended in a successful drive to recruit more members and attended by several Taverners including Gary Newbon, Dennis Amiss and MJK Smith.

ThE LORD'S TAVERNERS TWENTY20 CRICKET MATCH

The second Lord’s Taverners celebrity Twenty 20 cricket match took place at Warwick School. Attended by several hundred spectators over £5,000was raised on the day.

Organised by former Warwickshire County Cricket all-rounder and Warwick School sportsmaster Neil Smith the event was supported by many celebrities including 2005 Ashes hero Ashley Giles with Allan Donald, Dougie Brown, Dion Dublin, Steve Ogrizovic and Nick Cook.


The Lord`s Taverners X1 beat the Old Warwickian X1 by 5wkts

RACHAEL HEYHOE FLINT OF THE LADY TAVERNERS PRESENTS SOPHIE PRITCHARD WITH A SPORTS WHEELCHAIR – 2nd June 2009

Rachael Heyhoe Flint, President of The Lady Taverners, visited Wolverhampton Grammar School on 2nd June where Sophie Pritchard is a second year student. Sophie is very keen on sport and takes part in an Outreach Sports Club at Penn Hall School   in the evenings where she plays basketball.

When Rachael arrived Sophie was taking part in a physical education lesson out on the games field with her fellow pupils from Wolverhampton Grammar School. Wolverhampton GS are a main stream establishment, however they have fully integrated Sophie into all their school activities.

Sophie was delighted with her new wheelchair, which will enable her to keep playing wheelchair sports including Basketball and Table Cricket.

THE LADY TAVERNERS PRESENT £4950 TO PETER PAN NURSERY - MARCH '09

Veronica Ralley presented a cheque for £4950 to Peter Pan Special Nursery Newcastle Staffs to purchase a mobile sensory unit for children under five with special needs.

THE LADY TAVERNERS PRESENT £3000 TO HEATHFIELD SCHOOL - MARCH '09

Veronica Ralley with Pupils and staff from Heathfield  Special School Stoke on Trent who received £3000 towards the cost of a trampoline and equipment to provide rebound therapy and sensory stimulation,  which helps strengthen muscle tone in children with disabilities.