Forget-Me-Not Ball a great success!

A very big thank you to Rhona Damant and Laini White for organising the Forget-Me-Not Ball as a fundraiser for Breast Cancer UK and its No More Breast Cancer campaign. As a woman facing a terminal diagnosis of breast cancer, we cannot express enough how much we appreciated the incredible effort Rhona made to make the event happen.

So, on a beautiful summer's evening guests gathered on the lawns at the West Wing, Ickworth House – a stunning National Trust property in the heart of Suffolk. The evening that followed included music, a raffle with amazing gifts and a wonderful auction with more than 50 items up for auction. The organising committee had gone to a great deal of care and effort to secure a huge range of donations, as well as reaching out to many environmentally friendly donors.

The ball was a great success and the evening was enjoyed by everyone. We had all been concerned when, just days before the event, Rhona had been admitted to hospital – but she fought back and we were delighted that she was able to be there for the ball.

We expect to have raised sufficient funds from this inaugural event to extend our 'No More Breast Cancer' campaign work into regional networks and communities, and along the way, BCUK has established more long-term dialogue with companies who supported the event.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Rhona, to Laini, to their families, especially husbands David and to Trevor; to Mary Myers and chef Daniel Boniface, and to Peter and all the staff at Ickworth; to all those who attended; to those who supported the raffle and especially those who made bids at the auction – some of them more than once! For those who helped us along the way – Rosie Armstrong, Kate Young, Di Dowling, Daniella Dowling, Pete Roberts, Kevin Dimmer, Angela Burton and David Cross – and a very special thanks to our friends at Seesaw PR – Sam Wright and Andrea MacNamara.

Those companies we would also like to thank include:

Spietzia Organics
Weleda
Trevarno Organic Skincare

BSkyB/Sky Television
Silver Dolphin Marine Conservation and Diving
Lastminute.com
Seesaw PR
Botanica Nursery
Peter Beale's Roses
Thomas Hoblyn Garden Designs

Infinity Foods
Alara Wholefoods
Crazy Jacks
People Tree
Ren Skincare
Norfolk Greenhouses
Duchy Originals
Tree2MyDoor

And to those individuals who helped with securing some of the raffle and/or auction prizes... Deirdre Cott, Suzi Aplin, Deirdre Moran, Rachel Wood, Jonathan Wild

Also thanks to Julia Azopardi, Gareth Mitchell, Julia Lambert, Susan Burrell, Mary Edwards at Friends of the Earth, and John Matthissen of the Green Party.