Herald - Issue 401

Page 14 • The HERALD • 28th January 2021 v READ THE HERALD ONLINE: www.herald-publishing.co.uk v • Airport & Seaport Specialists • Highly Competitive Fares • Friendly, Reliable Service • Comfortable 6 Seater MPVs • Any Distance - Minimum Fare £10 Before booking your journey please call us for a free quotation 07770 967198 or 023 8194 8754 www.kazcarz.co.uk Acorn Building Contracts Ltd u Reliable, local builders offering affordable, quality workmanship u Our employees are fully qualified and fully insured u All aspects of building undertaken including extensions, structural alterations, roofing, ground works, kitchens, bathrooms, carpentry and plastering u Drawings arranged u Insurance work undertaken u Local Authority Approved Contractor For free quotations and friendly advice please call Office: 023 8024 3336 Mobile: 07786 656865 Email: acornbuilding@googlemail.com or visit our website: www.acorn-builders.co.uk You will not be disappointed AUSTIN WINDOW CLEANING Professional Window Cleaning Service established 25 years £15 per house Tel: 07733 205341 www.austinwindowcleaning.co.uk SOLO CARS Available 24 hours, 365 days a year 023 8089 0244 023 8084 1951 FRIENDLY AND RELIABLE • Local and Any Distance • Airport & Cruise Transfers H 8 SEATER MINIBUS NOW AVAILABLE H All major credit cards accepted Estate/Saloon Cars Available H ESTABLISHED SINCE 1992 H TAXIS TAXIS Send your local news to The Editor, The Herald, 2 High Street, Hythe SO45 6AH Hampshire Charity Leader Receives OBE Hampshire-based Clare Normand is on the leadership team at The Brain Tumour Charity as Head of Strategy. She is also a fundraiser and raises awareness in her son’s name, for The Charity. In January 2008, Clare and her husband Christopher lost their nine-year-old son, Alec, to an inoperable brain tumour. Alec had been diagnosed ten months earlier in April 2007. Clare and Christopher have two other children: Oliver, now 20, is Alec’s younger brother; and Ursie, now 12, who was born a few months a er Alec died. Clare said: “To say I am proud of this award is an extraordinary understatement – it is the most unexpected gift of my life and very humbling. “While I feel the honour deeply, nothing can replace our son Alec, who died of a brain tumour in 2008, at the age of nine. His quiet nature hid a gloriously sunny personality and smile, now represented, for all those who loved him, by a sunflower. As he was dying, he made us promise not to let the same thing happen to anyone else. It is a difficult promise to keep but I have been trying to do just that since, working with my family, wonderful friends and the outstanding team at The Brain Tumour Charity.” Stricken by what happened to Alec and urged on by their dying son, Clare and Christopher sought an organisation that shared their vision of putting an end to brain tumours, led by medical research. ey started fundraising for the inspirational Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust (now e Brain Tumour Charity) in 2007, by setting up their Supporter Group, the Alec Normand Fund, which to date has raised almost £700,000. Clare said: “Singling me out for an OBE must also be put in context: my whole family has shared the loss of Alec and has given me the space over the last few years to pursue our promise to him; there are countless families that have been devastated by the effects of a brain tumour; and there are hundreds of other people working tirelessly to find a cure for brain tumours. In accepting this honour, I consider myself to be life and it has been my extraordinary privilege to have been part of leading change with the team at The Brain Tumour Charity. I have had the good fortune to meet some extraordinary people over the years as well as people willing to do extraordinary things to raise awareness and money in Alec’s name or the name of their loved ones. Above all, this honour confirms that together we have come some way in fulfilling our promise to Alec. There is much more to be done – brain tumours remain the biggest cancer killer of children – but the foundations have been laid for change, bringing hope for others. Like the sunflower, in tough times, ‘if you turn your face to the sun, the shadows fall behind’.” Sarah Lindsell, CEO of e Brain Tumour Charity, said: “Clare has been instrumental in developing our strategy, shaping us into the world-leading charity that we are today. Her exceptional talent, drive, and compassion, going above and beyond in everything she does, has played a key part in the growth in income and impact of The Brain Tumour Charity over the years. She continues to be a beacon of support and inspiration to so many in our community affected by a brain tumour diagnosis. That Clare has been recognised in this way is a huge boost at a time when our plans have had to change direction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with those with brain tumours in even more urgent need.” e Brain Tumour Charity is the UK’s largest dedicated brain tumour charity, committed to ghting a representative of all of them, and I hope this public recognition of our combined efforts will inspire further support. Over the last decade we have been supported by amazing friends and family in fulfilling our promise. These ten years have also been the most rewarding of my working Alec Normand aged 5 2003 continued on page 15