Golden chance to raise money

From the Gazette & Herald, first published Thursday 6th Sep 2001.

A WILTSHIRE Day is being staged on Saturday September 8 to raise funds to help send a group of young people from the county on an expedition to New Zealand.

The Bridge Centre in Chippenham has organised the event at the Queen's Head on Dunkirk Hill, Devizes, to help the youngsters from the Chippenham and Devizes areas to take part in the expedition as part of their Duke of Edinburgh gold awards.

Natalie Ball from Semington, Ania MacDonald from Chippenham, Kate and Jenny Evans from Sutton Benger, Tom Minty from Urchfont, James Bennett from Market Lavington, Clare Purton from Chippenham, Abbi Lanng from Worton and Alexa Plant from Devizes are due to leave for the Antipodes on Christmas Eve.

They will celebrate Christmas Day in the air and touch down in Sydney on Boxing Day. After meeting Duke of Edinburgh Award groups in the area, they fly on to New Zealand where they will undergo two or three days' training before setting off on their four-day `yomp' over the volcanic landscape of New Zealand's North Island.

The trip is likely to cost between £12,000 and £15,000 and the Bridge Centre has organised a busy fundraising programme. It is also being supported by the Gazette and Herald, Wadworth's and British Airways.

It will cost £550 each to send the nine youngsters on the trip. The group still needs to raise another £2,500 and they have been organising many local events to raise more cash for the expedition.

The Wiltshire Day is the latest of these. It begins at 10am when car washes will be available at £2.50 each and at 2.30pm there will be a car treasure hunt with tickets available from the Queen's Head.

Throughout the day there will be live folk music, craft stalls, a pig roast and a special appearance by a selection of creepy crawlies, including spiders and snakes.

Devizes Mayor Ray Parsons will be there from 2.15pm to start the car treasure hunt. In the evening there will be entertainment from the Wessex Contraband singalong folk group.

Sue Rowland, youth and community worker at the Bridge Centre in Chippenham, said: "We are going to make it a very special day for all Wiltshire people and I hope as many people as possible will come along."

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