Exclusive
web gallery |  | Noel
Edmonds and
Sophie Johnson | |
Noel's house warming partyTV
personality Noel Edmonds gets an exclusive first look inside the new children's
hospice nearing completion in the village of Wraxall near Bristol. Accompanying
him on a tour of the new facilities is 13-year-old Sophie Johnson, from Montacute
in Somerset. She currently uses the sister hospice at Little Bridge House
in Devon. Fund raising success story|
Fact File | There are 1,000 + children with life-limiting
diseases in the West and South West.
Little Bridge House in Devon, which
has been open for 11 years, currently helps 200 children and their families each
year by providing respite and palliative care.
The charity running the
hospice is entirely voluntary funded at present, although there are plans for
around 5% of the running costs to come from the government over the coming three
years.
Charlton Farm will provide a home from home environment providing
support to sick children and their families throughout the area.
Open days
at Charlton Farm will run from November 2006 to March 2007 to thank supporters
and show them what their money has paid for.
The charity needs to raise
approximately £6m a year in order run both Little Bridge House and Charlton
Farm. |
Sophie suffered from a bout of meningitis when
she was just 15-days-old, and although she recovered to lead a near-normal life,
her condition started to worsen four years ago. She now has severe immobility
issues.
However, this doesn’t stop her from being one of the most
popular girls in her village, having been crowned Carnival Queen a few years ago. "The
Babe Appeal" has raised millions of pounds to build the new centre, but more
money is still needed to pay for the running costs.
Much of the money
has come from listeners to BBC Radio Bristol who went to extraordinary lengths
to ensure the project got off the ground. You can still make your donation
through the charity's website Links
relating to this story:The BBC is not responsible for the content
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Bath's
grand gardens | | Grand
designs - a green makeover for Bath |
Josie d'Arby gets her
hands dirty working on a million pound makeover of Bath's grandest garden. The
Prior Park Landscape Garden is being restored to its former glory, with help from
the Heritage Lottery Fund. The work will see the rebuilding of the original
Serpentine Lake and Water Cascade. Links relating to this story:The BBC is not
responsible for the content of external websites |
Sri
Lankan secret | | Thurairajah
Samuel's amazing story uncovered for the first time |
A Methodist
Minister in the Mendips makes an extraordinary confession about his past life.
The Reverend Thurairajah Samuel has kept an astonishing secret for more
than 20 years, in fear of his life. But now he's decided to come clean
with his congregation about the events that led him to flee his native Sri Lanka.
Links relating to this story:The BBC is not responsible for the content
of external websites |
Inside
Out - West: Monday September 25, 2006