Ceilidh makes £1,400 for Air Ambulances

An estimated £1,400 was raised for the Air Ambulance service at the ceilidh in the Public Hall on Friday night. The highly successful event was organised by ARS, the Audlem Ramblers Society, and every available ticket was sold.

Regular readers of Audlem Online will recall that back in April, Kate Down fell and broke her leg whilst out walking with ARS. She had to be rescued by the Air Ambulance as the area where she fell was inaccessible to a normal ambulance. Despite being an important arm of the rescue services, all of the Air Ambulances throughout the country are funded by donations, not through taxes. Following Kate's accident, ARS members agreed to raise money to support this valuable service.

The music was provided by Audlem's very own ceilidh band, The Crofters, the village's longest established group of musicians, who are donating their fee to the Air Ambulance Fund. The lively music and their caller, Hillary, had everyone dancing enthusiastically with the more competent participants accommodating the less experienced with admirable patience and forbearing!

The food – a choice of chilli or lasagne – was provided by ARS members. A special word for May Hunter who produced all the sweets, an excellent apple crumble. The Public Hall's splendidly refurbished bar made its debut, manned throughout the night by Andrew Down, helped by an ARS team working shifts. Their enthusiasm knew no bounds when a barrel of Titanic was found to be the 'guest' real ale. Steve Nash of the Lord Combermere provided timely help during the evening, particularly when an emergency barrel was needed to refresh the exhausted dancers.

Raffle prizes were donated by all three of Audlem's pubs – The Bridge Inn, The Lord Combermere and The Shroppie Fly. Thanks also go to Sainsbury's for providing a voucher towards the cost of the food and drink.

John Down thanked everyone in the packed hall for their support and complimented the large team that had helped make the evening so enjoyable.

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