Past events

Carol singing at the Victoria Plaza Centre - Saturday, 10th December 2011

Meal Event at the Dining Room - Friday, 9th December 2011

Forty hungry people went to the Dining Room on the 9th December in anticipation of enjoying a cracking gourmet meal, and they weren't disappointed!

The choice of dishes was really extensive and when the food arrived lived up to the restaurant's excellent reputation.  Music was provided by Richard Phillips on guitar and his vocalist - Jenny, and judging by the level of noise from the diners, everyone had a great time getting to know everybody else! 

If you missed this event, you really should go to the Dining Room another time as the food was really first-class.

Peaceful Place and Southend MIND Quiz

Thursday, 17th November 2011

Nineteen teams battled it out for the honour of winning the first combined quiz between two charities - Peaceful Place and Southend MIND.

In the end, Norwegian Blue (a Peaceful Place team) won, having known the answer to such intellectual questions as 'how many baked beans are there in the average 14 ozs tin?'

There was a fantastic atmosphere in the room and the whirring of brain cells in action was palpable.

At the end of the evening a very healthy £1165 was raised which was split between the two charities.

Many thanks to Barbara Newman of Southend MIND and her merry band of helpers, and to Lyn and Del Smee - our very able markers for helping to make the event the huge success it undoubtedly was.

Firewalk - 29th October 2011

Sixteen people kindly braved walking on hot coals for a good cause - raising money for Peaceful Place while warming their little tootsies at the same time!  The photo below shows Del Smee hot-footing it across burning embers, whilst raising over a staggering £1,000 for the charity.  Del - who took the Firewalk very seriously - had been in training at home wearing Bacofoil on his feet (as you do), but the training paid off as on the day he didn't suffer so much as a blister.

A wonderful barbecue was kindly laid on by the Magic Mushroom Restaurant, and the Fantabulous Sweet Shop and Balloon Decor also chipped in to help with expenses.

At the end of the evening, nearly £3,000 was raised for the charity.  A heart-warming thank you to everyone that participated in the Firewalk and all the family and friends that came to cheer them on!

Harvest Festival Auction of Goods and Promises

Saturday, 1st October 2011

This event was kindly organised for Peaceful Place by Donna Adams (or A. R. Adams Funeral Directors) and Paul Mitchell, President of the Rayleigh Conservative Club.

The event was held at the Rayleigh Conservative Club and started with a small harvest festival thanksgiving.  There were well over 100 lots including loaves of home-baked bread, jars of home-made jams and chutnies, and a variety of home-made cakes.  People attending the auction were extraordinarily generous and one item alone (a bottle of whisky) raised £130 - that person must have been really thirsty!  At the end of the night, a fantastic £4,080 was raised for Peaceful Place!

Donna and Paul, thank you SO much, and thanks to all the kind and generous folk (and most of the traders in Rayleigh!) that donated goods and won them under the hammer!

Meal event at the Regency Spice

Thursday, 1st September 2011

This event was kindly organised by Lisa Leechy whose father is a member of Peaceful Place.

61 people enjoyed a fantastic all-you-can-eat buffet offering a multitude of delicious dishes, and for those up to the challenge, there was the opportunity to partake in some after dinner karaoke...

Everyone seemed to have a thoroughly good time and the wonderful sum of £424 was raised.

Many thanks to Lisa and her family for organising this event on behalf of Peaceful Place.

Southend Carnival - Saturday, 21st August 2011

Thanks to Andrew Seal and Leigh Operatic Dramatic Society, we had a wonderfully decorated float on the theme of 'The Secret Garden'.  Thanks to the little girl who exclaimed that our float was "well good!".

Thanks to everyone at LODS and all the Peaceful Place volunteers who walked alongside the float shaking buckets and getting one arm longer than the other!  We will be getting half the proceeds from the Carnival (to be presented in January 2012).

2nd Peaceful Place Dogathon - Sunday, 24th July 2011

Around 40 dogs met up on Sunday, 24th of July for Peaceful Place's second Dogathon.

With tails a-wagging all the way, the dogs walked their owners one mile along the seafront, turning into Southchurch Park for some fun canine competitions with prizes.  Judging the competitions was vet Kris Barnett from Ian Jobson's veterinary practice in Rochford. His own dog - Tia (14) - who had not done any training for the one mile walk - refused to budge once in the park, instead preferring to watch her peers entering competitions such as ‘The Best Party Trick', ‘The dog that looks most like a Film/Pop Star', ‘The Most Heartwarming Rescue Story' etc.

The winner of the category ‘The Dog that looks most like a Film/Pop Star' was Bengie, a Yorkshire Terrier, dressed as Tiger Woods (although the organiser of the Dogathon insists he was a dead-ringer for Norman Wisdom!).

At the end of a fun afternoon 16 dogs were awarded certificates and prizes, and every dog went home with a Peaceful Place rosette and a doggy bag sponsored by The Print Studio (Rochford), Pets at Home, James Well Beloved, Burgess Foods, Your Dog magazine, Pet Noodles and Wagg Dog Foods.

At the end of the day, a staggering £2,400 was raised!  Many thanks to all who participated and donated towards this fantastic sum.

Moonlight Colourthon - Saturday, 2nd July 2011

We were fortunate enough to have Rachel Riley do the Moonlight Colourthon on behalf of Peaceful Place again this year.  Although numbers were down overall and for Peaceful Place, as at 24th August, £1,400 was raised for the charity.

Many thanks to the nine people that walked alongside Rachel - you know who you are and you are all stars!  Think of it - 13.2 miles (and the shops were closed!!).

Heartbeat/Buddy Holly Evening - 30th April 2011

Another wonderful evening with the fantastic HEARTBEAT group playing their socks off!

Everyone had a fabulous time and £840 was raised for the charity.

Thanks to everyone that came and tripped the light fantastic. 

The Thorpe Bay Broadway Royal Wedding Street Party - 29th April 2011

Well – that’s another of the world’s most eligible bachelors no longer on the market!

It has to be said that Kate Middleton looked absolutely gorgeous walking down the aisle, but just as stunning was Thorpe Bay’s own Rebecca Harding, walking along the Broadway in a beautiful gown kindly lent to her by Chantilly Lace in Chalkwell.  Her bridegroom (Alfie Albert) looked equally dashing in a morning suit borrowed from David White Suits.

And what a turnout!!  The threatened rain kindly held off and if it was a bit chilly, well – no-one seemed to notice......  It was estimated that around two and a half thousand people piled into the Broadway, so thank you to everyone in Thorpe Bay (and beyond) for coming along, joining in the celebrations and rounding off a perfect day instyle! 

As well as bringing the community together socially, the event was also a fundraising success for Peaceful Place.  Money came pouring in from all sides, and at the end of the day – thanks to everyone that contributed - a magnificent £6,000 was raised for the charity!

Immediately after the street party, the fantastic team that put the event together unanimously said“ when can we do it again?”- and the answer is.......next year.   No, Prince William is not getting married again, but in June 2012 there will be a nationwide celebration to mark the Queen’s 60 years on the throne, and once again we will be organising a street party in the Broadway, but with the benefit of this year’s experience, it should be even bigger and better!

My thanks to BERA for their contribution towards some of the expenses, to Councillors Stafford,Woodley and Kaye for their help, and to all the generous businesses and people that helped plan and run the event and to all the kind residents that dug deep into their pockets on the day.

If you’d like to get involved next year in any way, can donate goods or services or know someone who looks like the Queen or has a corgi!, please contact me on 01702 546476 ore-mail: fundraising@peacefulplace.co.uk

Very best wishes and thanks again.

Celia Riley

Christmas Fayre at the Rochford W.I. Hall - 20th November 2010

The hall looked like a little fairyland in Rochford.  Santa was looking a bit plumper than last year, but the children didn't seem to mind.

There were possibly more raffle prizes than people that attended, but to those that did come I'd like to say thank you for your support, and thank you to everyone that came along to help or man a stall.

Around £370 was made which will help towards Peaceful Place running costs.

Ho ho ho!

Auction of Goods and Promises - 26th November 2010 - Thorpe Hall Golf Club

Well, crowd control wasn't necessary - however, David Bright (MBE) did a fantastic job as auctioneer, contending with banter and heckling from the limited audience (it's quality not quantity that counts).  Despite a very small turnout, postal bids helped boost the income from sales and just over £2,050 was raised (after expenses).  Some fantastic bargains were to be had and I hope the winning bidders of all items thoroughly enjoy using them, or take pleasure in giving them as Christmas presents.

There are still a number of lots that did not sell on the night, so the takings should go up a bit more from sales on e-bay etc.

My sincere thanks to everyone that donated goods or helped on the night.  Special thanks to:-

Olympus KeyMed / Choice Stores / Tower Radio / The Rendezvous Casino / Cooks Coaches / Ocean Beach Restaurant / The Kursaal Bowl / The Roslin Hotel / Boise Dreyfuss / John's Hairdressers (Westcliff) - Jasmine Beauty Salon (Leigh) / Vanity Fur in Leigh / Legend Hairdressers in Southchurch Road / The Athenaeum Club / Hello! magazine / Your Home magazine / Southend United F.C. / Mecca Bingo / The Sealife Centre / The Cliffs Pavilion / David Amess / The Prince of Wales Theatre / Lord Jeffrey Archer / The Aldwych Theatre / Roberto Bonora of the Thorpe Hall Golf Club

Quiz Night at the Freight House - 12th November 2010

This event was a sell-out.  Many thanks to all that attended and many thanks to Phil Sams who produced and ran the quiz.

Everyone had a great time despite the poor accoustics in the room, for which my apologies.

The winning team had flown in from Italy (well, OK, that was a number of years ago!) and went home with some non-Italian vino.  The losers went home with lemons, but weren't bitter about it!

Thanks to the fantastic turnout and the generosity of those buying raffle tickets, the wonderful sum of £842 was raised.  There will be another quiz in the early part of the New Year.  Watch this space...............

A Variety Concert Extravaganza - 9th October 2010

Dogathon - 29th August 2010

Around 40 intrepid dogs put their best paws forward on possibly the wettest Bank Holiday Sunday in history, towing their dog-loving humans behind them as part of Peaceful Place's first Dogathon. Despite torrential rain, their little soggy tails never stopped wagging, and although the sponsored walk ended up almost being a sponsored swim the dogs' enthusiasm for the event never wavered.

Having completed a one mile walk along the seafront (a couple of lucky dogs were picked up and tucked into owners' raincoats halfway), the canines took a detour into Southchurch Park for some fun competitions, such as 'The Dog That Looks Most Like its Owner', 'The Most Talented Dog', 'The Dog With The Waggiest Tail' etc.

Judge Kris Barnett from Ian Jobson's veterinary practice had a hard time picking the winning dogs because he thought they were all worthy champions, but at the end of the day 14 dogs were awarded certificates and prizes, and every dog went home with a Peaceful Place rosette, and a doggy bag sponsored by Vanity Fur, James Well Beloved and Wagg Dog Foods.

Peaceful Place would like to thank all the event's sponsors: Vanity Fur of Leigh, Pets at Home, James Well Beloved, Wagg Foods Limited and The Print Studio

Thanks too to Malachy O'Sullivan, Wendy and Mike Stafford, Simon Reed (dog trainer), Louise Davidge (Reiki practitioner), Mick Scannell of Outlook Outdoor Media and all dogs and owners for participating or helping.

Photos of the event can be viewed and purchased at www.essexsportsagency.com

As of 31st August, £750+ had been raised, with money still coming in.

With such a big paws up from the dogs, this event has just got to be repeated next year!

The Sutton Hall Miniature Railway - 8th August 2010

Ken Seymour and the members of the Sutton Hall Railway Society kindly ran the train all day on behalf of Peaceful Place.

The weather was lovely all day encouraging people to stop for a chat and enjoy a cup of tea and try out some of the home-made cakes.

Many thanks to Jan Botten and her family for manning the cafe all day, to Beryl Worsdale and Shirley Womersley for baking such delicious cakes, and to Ken and Denise Philips for helping on the tombola stall.

The winner of the fruit wordsearch was Stella Cordell who was amazed and delighted to have won a delicious box of mixed fruits. 

The event raised £350 towards funds and was enjoyed by all. 

If you missed the train and would like to go another time, the railway runs once a month on a Sunday throughout the summer, costs just £2 per adult, £1.50 per child, and can be found on Tabors Farm, Sutton Hall, Shopland Road, Rochford, SS4 1LQ.

Porters Summer Evening Event - 25th July 2010

The weather held out beautifully, the buffet table was groaning, wine was flowing, the music was fantastic (thanks to Declan Hickling, Nick Sigwart and Billy Henry) and the whole night was enjoyed by all.

The Mayor, Councillor Ann Holland, kindly let Peaceful Place use the Mayor's Lodge which just for one week had a marquee erected in the grounds, and for the third time that weekend, Ann attended a reception at Porters, wearing the Mayoral chain of office - very BLING!

The top prize in the silent auction was Disney's Thumper the rabbit (who went to a good home) and the whole evening raised just over £800.

Thanks to all that attended and everyone that helped on the night, or donated raffle or auction prizes.

Moonlight Colourthon - 3rd July 2010

1200 people entered the Moonlight Colourthon representing over 200 different charities and raising over £142,000 (with Gift Aid this will add up to more than £160,000).

Peaceful Place was fortunate in that one of the celebrities walking for Colourthon this year was Rachel Riley - our Fundraiser's daughter, who walked on behalf of Peaceful Place alongside her brother, Alex, boyfriend, Jamie and friend Siobhan.  The intrepid three took just over three and a half hours to complete the walk, losing Mark Foster when the end was nigh, as he nipped off for a swift pint (water, of course), before finishing the 13.5 mile walk just behind them.

Many, many thanks to all the lovely supporters that walked on behalf of Peaceful Place with no thought of personal sore knees, hips or feet!  When the total raised for Peaceful Place is finally known, it will be posted here on our website.

Charity Golf Day at Thorpe Hall Golf Club - 7th June 2010

We are very grateful to the Rotary Club of Thorpe Bay for holding its traditional annual Charity Golf Day at Thorpe Hall Golf Club on Monday 7^th June on behalf of Peaceful Place.  Moira McCann, a Trustee of Peaceful Place flew the flag for the charity in the afternoon, and in the evening, Rachel Riley from Countdown presented the winner, Gary Wavell, with the Peter Lagden Trophy - donated in memory of Peter Ladgen, a founder member of Thorpe Bay Rotary Club, who organised the event for many years.

152 golfers from all over S E Essex took part and in spite of the difficult economic conditions, the event raised a whopping £9000 which will be presented to Rachel Riley on behalf of Peaceful Place some time in July.

The members at Thorpe Hall Golf Club, many of whom paid to play on their own course, gave  free use of their superb facilities! The event had many sponsors, especially Fairfield BMW/MINI, French & Associates Ltd. and DMG Delta who gave their  support in tough times.

The event was blessed with fine weather and the course was in magnificent condition.  Thorpe Hall is not a long course but it is tight and it again caught out several good visiting club golfers and provided a stern test for all.  The winning individual David Gordon came in with 41 points (won on a countback) and took the Peter Lagden trophy.  The winning team, The Dampers scored 122 points.  Although there were big prizes available at each of the five par-3's for a Hole-in-One, there were unfortunately no takers.

Friday, 7th of May - Heartbeat did Buddy Holly at the new Park Inn Palace Hotel, Southend

Oh what a night!  

A local group with a heart of gold 'Heartbeat' wowed everyone with their repertoire of rock'n'roll and Buddy Holly music at the Park Inn Palace, giving everyone a night to remember.  It's always a good sign when almost everyone is on their feet dancing, and people certainly took to the dance floor in droves with many staying right 'til the bitter end!

Also making a guest appearance and wowing everyone was 16 year-old singer/songwriter India Linzey, ably accompanied by Matt Thomas on guitar.

The Park Inn did Peaceful Place proud - the service was excellent, the food delicious and the guests very complimentary!

The evening raised £1,200 towards funds and several people asked to be informed of all future events.

Thanks to everyone that attended - I hope it didn't take you as long to recover as it did me!

Celia

Southend's Got Talent - 21st March, 2010 at the Palace Theatre

Simon Cowell - eat your heart out!!

Peaceful Place's funds were boosted by nearly £3,000, thanks to 140 youngsters aged between eight and 18 who proved that Southend definitely does have talent! 

Musicians, singers and dancers from around 15 local schools appeared before an audience of friends and family, and wowed everyone with their undoubted ability.

Guests included David Amess MP, Southend's Mayor - Brian Smith and Deputy Mayor - Ann Holland.

One of the Stars of the show with a powerful voice - 16-year old singer/songwriter India Linzey will also be performing for Peaceful Place alongside Heartbeat at the Park Inn Palace on Friday, 7th of May 2010.  For further details look under Heartbeat in future events.

Quiz Night at Garons Park Golf Club

11th February 2010

Quizmaster extraordinaire Phil Sams pitched the questions for this quiz at just the right level which was reflected in the scores -most people managed a very decent 7 (ish) per round.  Twelve teams took part and fought fiercely for the title of 'Winners'!  A very respectable £559 was raised - so thanks to everyone that came to the quiz, to Phil Sams and my ever-helpful scorers Lyn and Del Smee.

Keep an eye out for our next quiz which will be posted in our Events section on this website.

A Magical Bus Ride with Arriva

14th - 19th December 2009

If you travelled on an Arriva bus between the 14th and the 19th of December, you may well have hopped onto a bus driven by Buzz Lightyear going to ‘Infinity .....and beyond!"

Lee Burvill (dressed as Robin Hood) encouraged his band of merry men to drive their buses around the County wearing fancy-dress, persuading passengers to part with their loose change in support of Peaceful Place and Amazing Daisy (a charity which supports Great Ormond Street and Neptune Children's ward at Southend Hospital).

When the drivers chose their costumes at the height of the summer however, they obviously didn't foresee the onslaught of snow that was to come - and would have fared better in snow suits and skis!

By the end of the week, generous passengers had handed over more than £3,000 to the drivers, some for their ‘pluck' and some for simply turning up at all! An additional £500 was donated by Arriva.  Peaceful Place received £1716.50 towards the running of the centre.

Many thanks to Lee Burvill and Arriva, Orange Lettings for sponsoring the costumes, and 'I Love Fancy Dress' for letting us have the costumes at a very discounted rate.

Tenpin Bowl and Bite at the Kursaal, Southend

15 October 2009

Oh what a Cosmic night!  A ‘30 - 1' challenge turned out to be a ‘7 - 1' challenge, but what the bowlers lacked in numbers, they more than made up for in the ability to ENJOY THEMSELVES!! The atmosphere was truly COSMIC, the DJ Liam was BRILLIANT, and judging by the noise level, everyone was having a blast! Several ‘celebrities' were in attendance - Mark Bonner, George Friend, Callum Whittaker & Harry Crawford from Southend United, Rachel Riley from COUNTDOWN, & Mr. Tenpin from the Kursaal (they don't get much bigger than ‘Mr. Tenpin!). Overall £251 was raised for Peaceful Place - next time (hopefully) we can easily double or treble that figure.

Christmas Fayre at St. Lukes

Sunday, 21st November 2009

This event was modestly attended but those that came had a good time. At the end of the day Father Christmas (aka ‘Mohammed Kamba' ), who had flown in just for the day from the North Pole, got the sack (but promised to refill it in time for next year!).

Thanks to Jan & the Botten family, Mo & the Kamba family & all other helpers on the day.

Due to the lack of footfall going past St. Lukes, this Christmas we will be holding our Christmas Fayre in a much more accessible place (yet to be booked).  If anyone knows of a good hall that is preferably free (!) could they please contact Celia on 01702 546476.

Fashion Show at the Boatyard Restaurant

8 October 2009

A HUGE THANKS to the six shops that took part in the show: Cameo, D'Lucca, Hollywood Babes, Remmie, The Lemon Fox and The Peaceful Place ‘Boutique'.
The show raised nearly £1,250 thanks to a good turnout. The event was brilliantly attended & some absolutely gorgeous clothes were delightfully showcased by a plethora of beautiful models of all ages, shapes & sizes. The youngest model, Christina (2), when asked if she had enjoyed her debut, said "yes, I want to do it all again tomorrow". All three models - Shannon & Christina (2) & ............... (7) were absolutely adorable, totally professional, & drew gasps of "ooh & aaaah" from their admiring public.

Rachel Riley (who happens to be related to Celia on her maternal side) also looked stunning in some very desirable outfits from Hollywood Babes & The Lemon Fox, & couldn't bear to be parted from the pair of boots she modelled. They are now an integral part of the Riley household..... Garry Miell of Legend (Southchurch Road) & his fantastic team did the models' hair beautifully & Garry helped in so many ways - THANKS A MILLION!
Thanks also to Julie of Balloon Baboon for the delightful balloon bouquets, & Zita at the Boatyard for letting us use the luxurious Boatyard Restaurant for the evening.

East Restaurant

27 August 2009

To misquote the Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "The guests were met, the feast was set, and there was a merry din!" 39 revellers enjoyed a delicious meal in convivial company and helped raised £339 towards funds. A great time was had by all and thanks to all that attended the feast!!