Grand Charity Cabaret

Sun shines on SAKA Fete & Barbecue

Members worked hard to put together a worthwhile event on Saturday 16

th

August and the weather was kind to us. Southborough Mayor, Councillor Colin Bothwell, performed the official opening reminding people that this was the second year we had held such an event and that this year we were raising money to help poor, elderly people in Kaniv. We were all delighted to have Anya with us on her first visit to England from Ukraine. She had been a pupil at School Number Six when the President, Chairman and their respective wives first visited Kaniv in September 2003. Now she is well into her course at University in Kiev.

Our publicity before the event was better this year but attendance was probably a little down on last year. However we were competing with “Super Saturday” in Beijing so we can be well pleased that a reasonable number of the general public spent time with us and that 20 of our members came either as helpers or customers. Tombola proved the most popular stall but, books, bric-a-brac, plants, games, teas, a raffle and ticket sales for the Grand Draw all helped us reach a very respectable profit on the day. A number of people found the exhibition about the Great Famine of 1932-33, when between 7 and 10 million Ukrainians are believed to have starved to death, most interesting. Copies of the Supplement which accompanied the display are available from the Chairman (01892 528495) on request.

Our thanks go to Direct Catering, who once again supplied the ever popular BBQ and most of all to all the helpers who did such a splendid job and made the event a very pleasant social occasion.

SAKA Fete and Barbecue. 11.30am – 3.30pm. Saturday 16th August 2008

Klitshko Brothers Supporting SAKA

Ukrainian World champion heavyweight boxer,

Vladimir Klitshko

and his brother

Vitaly

, the retired ex-champion, are supporting SAKA. They have donated two pairs of sparring gloves, which they have signed. We will shortly be arranging a promotion featuring the gloves in order to boost our Association funds, enabling us to invest in new projects to improve facilities in Kaniv for students and the elderly.

Ukrainian sportsmen and women have been generous in the support of our organisation. In 2007 a signed Discovery Channel team cycling shirt was donated by ‘super-domestique’ Yaroslav Popovych, following the Kentish stage of the Tour de France, which passed through Southborough; and Ukrainian-born Great Britain tennis star, Elena Baltacha, donated four signed tennis shirts.

Summer Fete rescheduled

Saturday, 16th August 2008

The date of the Summer Fete and Barbecue at Gallards Close has been put back two weeks. Full details will be notified shortly

Open Gardens Day

This was very much a new venture for us, so we were a little apprehensive as to its potential success, especially as the weather in the days beforehand had made preparations quite difficult. However the owners, all SAKA members, of the three gardens in Southborough and the residents of an interesting community garden were prepared to take a chance and open their gardens to members and friends. The weather on the day was kind and each of the gardens was delightful in its own special way. It was a typically English occasion with visitors eager to ask questions, chat with one another, admire the beauty set out before them and to appreciate the work that had been put into each garden to make it attractive for them. A very pleasant social occasion on a fine June afternoon just had to finish with the serving of traditional English cream teas on the lawn of the last garden of the tour. Everyone was agreed that the afternoon had been very worthwhile and a positive success. Thank you to all those who had helped to make it so.

We continue our policy of giving good value for money at all our events and at the same time to make very reasonable profits at both the above events. The funds raised at the Beetle Drive and the Open Gardens Day will go towards our objective for 2008 of making life just a little more comfortable for some of the poor elderly folk living in Kaniv

Beetle Drive at the Ark, Gallards Close

The Beetle Drive attracted sixteen people, mostly members plus a few guests. This was the third such event we have organised and to those members who have not yet attended one, we suggest you come along and surprise yourselves just how enjoyable they can be. No-one begrudged the fact that our hard-working events organiser was the winner – after all she does draw magnificent beetles!