For the first time Crowle Lodges’ annual hog roast wasn’t blessed with the kind of weather almost hot enough to roast those attending as well as the pork provided by Richard Turner of Snap, Crackle, and Pork – but an afternoon of showers and heavier rain didn’t put off more than 200 who were there.
The afternoon, at the home of Robin and Ginnie Barker started with two cheque presentations to charities the Lodges had decided to support with funds from last year’s event – Quarriers and Fireflies, which were both given £500.
Quarriers is a Scottish social care charity in a village in Inverclyde, which was nominated by Barrie Turner. Cheque in hand, he dashed off there at once from the Hog Roast, but not before he had time to explain that Quarriers has supported a grandfather he never knew who’d lost a leg in an accident. The organisation provides care and support for people with a disability, children and families, young people, young homeless people, people with epilepsy and carers. In February 2008 Quarriers was the largest non-church social care charity in Scotland.
The charity was founded in the late 19th century by William Quarrier, a shoe retailer from Glasgow. In the 1890s he built the Orphan Homes of Scotland in Bridge of Weir, which were home to up to 1,500 children at a time.
Fireflies was nominated by Dave Marshall, seen below in his chain of office as Mayor of Stainforth, where he’s an independent councillor, but filling the role of Mayor for the third time. Fireflies is a charity providing transport for patients needing treatment at hospitals around Yorkshire.
This year’s event, with the depleted attendance, still raised about £1,400 from the raffle, which will be shared amongst good causes yet to be decided.
Below: Matt Dunstan presents the cheques to the chosen charities. A further £2,000 was given to the Crowle Masonic Building for the provision of air conditioning units.