Tea on the Green Hailed Big Success

Tatton Estate hosted one of its most successful local events yet, all designed to raise money for North West Air Ambulance (NWAA), whilst putting on a great show to entertain the local folk of Cheshire.

‘Tea On The Green’ was a new concept this year for the village of Bostock Green, home to the recently opened Hayhurst Arms, which contributed 20% of all sales from the BBQ and outside bar towards the charity. People queued all afternoon for the freshly barbecued burgers and hotdogs on offer, with a total of 320 sold altogether, along with 100 pots of ice cream, and over 200 pints of cask ale and bottled cider.

“We can’t quite believe how successful it was” says Hayhurst Arms landlord, Chris Beswick. “The weather certainly helped with the marquee providing shade for those enjoying the afternoon teas. Husbands, wives, partners and children of our staff all pitched in to help out on the day, and we also had a tremendous response on our Facebook and Twitter streams from those who came along to say how much they enjoyed it.”

The tea, all donated by local company Tea from the Manor, was served in vintage teacups, along with home made scones and cakes. Traditional fair ground attractions, and popular side shows such as Hook a Duck, Coconut Shy, Guess How Many Balloons squeezed in the vintage car kindly lent by Winsford Body Shop, and the mandatory bouncy castle, entertained the children, along with magician, Nick Barnes, and singer Kojo whose nostalgic repertoire was enjoyed by everyone.

Local resident, Linda Whitlow, enthused: “What a fabulous afternoon! And what better way to spend an afternoon: sunshine, fun for the kids, a chance to catch up with friends, enjoy good entertainment and a drink, all whilst raising money for a good cause.”

In total, 21 local businesses came along to support the day, all either sponsoring the event, donating their equipment free of charge, or contributing 20% of their takings for the charity. Tatton Estate would like to thank the following for helping to make the event such a tremendous success: Brunning & Price, Temples Lettings, Robert’s Bakery, Able Marquees, Event Buddha, Tea from the Manor, Cheshire Farm Ice Cream, BIG Engineering (Bostock), Passport to Fun, Alan’s Fruit & Veg, Pebble In The Pond, Crepe Chateau, The Jam Jar, Cheshire Artificial Grass Services, musician Kojo, magician Nick Barnes, Phil Smallwood, MistyMoo, Route66 Rides, Cheshire Mobile Services, The Vintage Coffee Company and as always, St John Ambulance.

Organising the event on behalf of the Tatton Estate was Heather Clawson who said: “We had such a fabulous response and support from numerous local businesses and suppliers from all across the local area. All have been so generous in either giving their services and products free of charge, or at greatly reduced rates in support of the event, the charity and also the Tatton Estate.

It was such a great day and we are thoroughly looking forward to next year’s event!”

The Bostock Parish Council also gave a donation of £150 to the charity. Waitrose joined them donating £646 through their Community Matters Moneybox, which received a massive amount of tokens in June, resulting in the largest contribution this month by shoppers who selected this as their chosen charity. In total £1,627.50 was raised for NWAA.

Gillian Edwards, fundraiser for NWAA, was overwhelmed with the response. “It’s amazing to see just how many people support what we are doing”, she said.

“We are one of 18 air ambulance charities nationally and have to generate our own funds. One tank of fuels costs £579, lasting just 2¼ hours, and the three North West helicopters are called out between five to 10 times a day. Flying 365 days a year we provide a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service to the eight million people of the North West.

“Through the support of the public, we now have doctors on board our aircraft alongside our paramedics and pilots. This means that advanced medical treatment can be delivered at the scene, saving crucial seconds and giving the gift of time to our patients. Our service currently costs over £6 million per year to deliver, all of which comes from voluntary donations so our very grateful thanks go to everyone involved, particularly the Tatton Estate, for all their very much appreciated hard work.”

Henry Brooks of Tatton Estate ended by saying: “A huge thank you to Heather, and to all the local businesses and friends of Bostock who turned out to help us on the day. NW Air Ambulance does an amazing job and it’s wonderful to see a community come together to support such a great cause.”

You can enjoy more of the images captured on the day on our Flickr stream. And watch our stunning video courtesy of local cinematographer, Mike Clawson, who very kindly filmed the afternoon for us free of charge.