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2020 Duck Food Sponsored by U Hold The Key - Alnwick
www.uholdthekey.co.uk/alnwick
WHO ARE WE DOING IT WITH?
This year is the fourth year we have run our annual Duck Race at The Alnwick Garden. This year we are partnering with Canine Partners, a local charity supporting assistance dogs for those in need.
Charities we have partnered with over our first three years!
All the money we raise goes towards charity, and anyone buying a ticket has the chance to win one of our great prizes.
Charities we have partnered with over our first three years!
- 2017 - Hospice Care Northumberland
- 2018 - The Stephen Carey Fund
- 2019 - The Alnwick Playhouse
All the money we raise goes towards charity, and anyone buying a ticket has the chance to win one of our great prizes.
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Buy Tickets Online Below
We have printed tickets (all be it our April date) which are still valid. If you order online we can post out to you
Alnwick Round Table 2020 Duck Race Duck
£2.00
A ticket for a racing duck for our 2020 Duck Race!
We will post you your tickets once we have received from the printers.
Tickets will be posted out from the beginning of March 2020 and you will receive a confirmation email when posted.
Remember a ticket doesn't pay for entry into The Alnwick Garden.
Cheers!
Alnwick Round Table
The Adults Gin RaceThis year the Alnwick Gin Race will return. During the race, there will be some ducks released that will allow the adults to win a 20cl Bottle of Alnwick Gin. Bet on a duck and if yours comes in, you can win gin!
Ducks are on sale the day so you can collect your prize after the race! You must be present on the day to collect your prize. If you are unable to collect, we will donate your prize back to another raffle! www.alnwickgin.co.uk |
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THIS YEARS PRIZES SO FAR ....
We are currently looking for donated prizes from local business, if you can donate please get in touch! The list will update in the coming weeks....
£200 First PrizeSponsored by Alnwick Round Table
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£50 Prize for the last duck down the cascadeSponsored by U Hold the Key
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A Year Long Family Membership to
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A Meal for Two at The Tree HouseSponsored by The Alnwick Garden
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Free Entry for 4 Adults with Beer Tokens to The Alnwick Beer Festival 2020Sponsored by Alnwick Round Table
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Family Entrance to Alnwick Round Table Fireworks 2020Sponsored by Alnwick Round Table
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Lal Khazana Shilbottle Meal or Takeaway Gift VoucherSponsored by Lal Khazana Shilbottle
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£100 Gift VoucherSponsored by BeanBagBazaar.co.uk who are based in Northumberland
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Family of 4 Entry to Lindisfarne CastleSponsored by National Trust
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Family of 4 Entry to Inner Farne
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A Bottle of Alnwick Gin*
Sponsored by Alnwick Gin
*Only for people over 18, ID may be required on giving of prize
*Only for people over 18, ID may be required on giving of prize
Why Alnwick Round Table picked North Northumberland Canine Partners to collaborate with.......
Partnership Story:
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In 1989 I slipped 2 discs in my lower back and following multiple operations I've built up scar tissue attached to my spinal cord, which can't be removed. Nothing more can be done surgically, it's a case of managing my pain and trying to get on with life.
The pain became so debilitating that I needed a hospital bed in my living room; those four walls were my life for more than three years. Then 1999 I was fitted with a spinal cord stimulator and along with medication I could finally get up. However my pain and limitations were still so bad that my husband was seriously considering leaving working and our daughter who also looked after me had thought she would always have to live at home; she had given up on her own life before she was even 12 years of age. Disability affects the whole family not just the one person. We struggled on……
Mark works 65 miles from home and Ruth went to University 3 hours away in Leeds. I found that my back would go into severe spasms so easily, I would start little jobs in the house and not be able to finish - leaving a bigger mess for Mark to sort out - it was better for me not to try. I could drive to the shops but not reach the shopping and I dropped EVERYTHING, my purse, my keys even my walking stick!
I remember going into M&S just for cheese and not being able to reach it though it was only a foot in front of me, people were squeezing in past me and I was desperate for them not to bump into me as my back was in agony..... I usually drove home in tears, the stress causing the pain to increase - so back to bed. My world became small again & after going into spasms a few times in the garden I stopped going out of the door unless there was someone at home.
Then a friend told me about assistance dogs who looked amazing, but realising how much they cost the charity and knowing that there are people worse than I am, I put off applying. I spent a year in situations every day realising that an assistance dog would have been a great help but it was when I realised how much my family would benefit knowing that I had help, especially in an emergency that I decided to apply.
There were three assistance dog charities in the Midlands but they wouldn't even send an application form as having an assistance dog requires a lot of aftercare and they couldn't provide that up here in Northumberland.
My last chance was in applying to Canine Partners who at the time were based in West Sussex, however I was delighted to find that they have a network of people providing aftercare across the whole country. Canine Partners, although a small charity, place their amazing dogs in Northumberland & the Scottish Borders; we can truly say they are our local Charity!
Cutting a long story short along came Esther, I now keep my morphine in a box which Esther can bring to me as well as my mobile or house phone so I can call for help and so much more! Before I had Esther, when my husband went out for the evening, he had to get me into my PJ’s before he left as I needed to go to bed before he came home but now Esther undresses me and helps me in and out of bed. I can even stay up late after Mark has gone to bed if I’m well enough! I have a new sense of purpose as with Esther’s help I can do some chores, which saves my husband doing everything, she fills & empties the washing machine passing the items to me to hang up to dry. We go shopping as Esther can get the lower items that I can't reach but more importantly, having her by my side, people realise that I am disabled and don't bump into me. A massive help is that they see Esther and offer to help me without me having to ask; psychologically this is a great relief and focusing on her distracts me from my pain - she makes me smile.
Yes, I do need a carer to help me bath and dress, but they are with me an hour a day whereas Esther is with me 24/7.
Years ago I heard on the radio that ‘it's in doing things for others that we find ourselves' it really upset me as that’s what I lost when I became disabled and couldn't do the simplest of tasks for myself never mind others but now having Esther I can do so much more. I've got a level of independence I'm not always putting onto my family AND there's wonderful social interaction as people ask ‘what is a Canine Partner?’ I feel that I have found myself again and with a new purpose as a proud ambassador for this amazing charity.
But I have a new challenge….. a couple of years ago I was at Kelso Garden Centre, giving out leaflets to raise awareness of CP (and collecting funds!) when a young lady came up in a wheelchair, she knew all about the charity. Though still at school she wanted to go to university but knew she wouldn't manage without the support of an assistance dog and she would only get one from Canine Partners because she lived in the Borders. In fact she was deferring going to University until she could get one! Yes I struggle and my pain is bad but now I am determined to do what I can to enable other people to get a ‘life changing gift’ of a Canine Partner - I know the amazing difference these dogs make to people's lives!
