First topic message reminder :



Will be adding to this as we go on so for now Just to say the following

We will be holding our 2nd Garden Party at the Silistra Orphanage on Sat 25th Sept hope you guys can come along and support us.

List of attractions to follow:
1, We have a musician
2. We have a comedian
3, We have a disco
4) We have Willowsend from this forum doing all our photography
5) We have Channel 1 TV reporting

Berni &
Dougie

Hi Guys

Just a quick updated as in the internet cafe

We did really well on Saturday At the Garden Party, we raised a total of [size=150]648lev [/size]  and we also included the funds raised by us and all our/volunteers/donors from the UK we raised [size=150]1000 pounds[/size] which we donated bringing the total for the day up to around  [size=200]1300 pounds [/size]  which is just fantastic!!!!

Thanks to Radio Trust, Anglo-Info, British Lion Foods Pelican Guest House, Ourbulgarianforum and everyone who attended and helped and supported us You have all been just [size=200]Fantastic[/size]  



Will update you all when we get back to the UK      

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Berni &
Dougie  

Just a few pictures added by Ashley,  more will be added later

That is marvellous and the pictures of the children tell the story

It's great to hear you raised so much money and it's also lovely to see the children smiling, it looks like everyone had a great day and although I wasn't there I was thinking about you all, shame about Trust Radio not being able to broadcast that would have given me a feeling of being there but all this is down to two people with a great vision and passion for life Berni and Dougie

Thanks for the update Berni ... hope you both have a safe trip home and I look forward to more pics and gossip about the day!

I'm lost for words which makes a change how wonderful this all is to make so many children so happy and to give them something they will always remember, I love you 2 and I mean that from my heart 3 cheers to all of you

How fantastic it would be if there were more of this kind of thing going on all over the world I know Berni and her husband Dougie are only 2 people but they do so much for children who are no longer wanted by their parents for some reason, all I can say is for all you do and on behalf of mankind

Good news all round

:Fireworks: :Celebration: :Fireworks: :Celebration: :Fireworks: :Celebration: :Fireworks: :Celebration: :Fireworks: :Fireworks: :Celebration: :Fireworks: :Celebration: :Fireworks: :Celebration: :Fireworks: :Celebration: :Fireworks:

Good news from good people

Whatever I say here wouldn't be good enough to say what I mean so "
Well done"

Hi Folks,

In the absence of a full update on the Garden Party by Berni and Dougie (Leggett) whilst they are travelling, I have been asked to step in as one of the guests and give a brief review of the event from my experience as one of the attendees:

Must admit, we drove round the place ( Dimcho Debelianov Orphanage in Silistra) a few times before we actually found a way in at around 11.00 am! We could see all the cars parked by the building, but it was something of a concealed entrance! This is probably a good thing from the point of view of security, though! The weather, after having read forecasts for rain, was actually sunny and warm and held for the duration of the event.

The first people we met, of course, were Berni and Dougie, who were all smiles and busy organising! This was in front of the marquee, close to the barbecue. The football machine they had bought over was already much in use by the kids and they all seemed to be having a very good time. The marquee had a substantial no of cartons inside, which were later picked up for distribution to the kids and other places. However, Berni and Dougie had collected a lot more and this had already gone to other worthy causes such as two baby orphanages,the Kaspichan orphanage, the Refugee centre, the home for the elderly , and the local doctors surgery. After this, we met the radio Trust team of Bobby, Rosie, Nick and Marusia who had embarked on a 900 km round trip for the event and did a sterling job with music and announcements throughout.

On an upper level, by the entrance to the actual orphanage, there was a cake stall, a "
guess the weight of the cake"
table, tombola and raffle (organised by Berni &
Dougie and a surprise gift donated by the information web guys Anglo Info (Cindy, Don and their colleagues)). [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... p?ID=29564. Also, a book stall manned by Karen Fox. All of this was very popular and well-attended, ultimately resulting in an appreciable amount of money for the cause.

A little later, everyone was much entertained by local folk dancing and singing from the kids at the orphanage, along with a bit of modern dancing as well. David Benfield was much in evidence as the resident photographer for the event and we should be seeing quite a few photos from him in due course. Interviews were taken from Berni and Dougie, naturally, but quite a few others as well and these are being played on Radio Trust, although they should also be in evidence elsewhere soon.

Also, notable for their presence were Darren and Denise and their daughters who have taken over Quest from Chris and Jain and are also promoting the cause to the best of their abilities [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... -orphanage

"
Pelican"
also treated the part-goers to part of his repertoire (voice and guitar) and had made the trip over from his guest house in Srebarna [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. He has kindly organised an auction with the proceeds to go to Berni and Dougie's causes, which can be heard on Radio Trust
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

Before the draw for the raffle, we were pretty surprised to see that Berni and Dougie had managed to lay on quite a good spread for the guests, which included soft drinks, burgers, sausages, huge (!) bread rolls and all sorts of fillings, which was all very welcome after the hot sun! Throughout the proceedings, the notable thing was the happy smiling kids and the happy smiling guests. All in all, a very worthwhile and successful event from all points of view.

I expect I have missed a few people I ought to have mentioned, but I was only a guest myself! Hope no-one takes umbrage!

All power to Berni and Dougie for the future and we hope to see more of events like this and the greatest possible support from both the British and Bulgarian communities in the future.

To learn more about the orphanage or to make a donation: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Wel, those are my impressions and we'll see much more from Berni and Dougie soon!

::

coriolanus wrote:

Before the draw for the raffle, we were pretty surprised to see that Berni and Dougie had managed to lay on quite a good spread for the guests, which included soft drinks, burgers, sausages, huge (!) bread rolls and all sorts of fillings, which was all very welcome after the hot sun! Throughout the proceedings, the notable thing was the happy smiling kids and the happy smiling guests. All in all, a very worthwhile and successful event from all points of view.

Excellent! Congratulations to all concerned, especially of course Berni and Dougie for their tireless efforts to bring a bit of sunshine into the lives of these children.

Very good George a great insight to a great day of amazing people, it just goes to show that we can all make a difference if only we try, A big thank you to all from all of us on the forum for making such a great day for the Children of Silistra and the other causes

Thank you for that George and what a brilliant day it was for all of you

Great post George and very apt for the day I imagine and I'm glad you've all had a good time particularly the children

Yes, all, it was indeed a very good day and we should all now be looking forward to getting Berni's and Dougie's input, though I have no doubt it will be positive all the way.

Regards, George.