Harry Mills - News and Events

Jacob Buckle Complete The Rowers Revenge (Twice!)

2011-10-06T23:01:00.004+01:00

Jacob Buckle has competed in his first triathlon to raise money for the Youth Sport Trust in memory of his friend, Harry Mills. The Youth Sport Trust aims to empower young people through sport and this is something Jacob believes strongly in. You can still support Jacob at his JustGiving page. He says “The image of Harry's smiling face helped him through the tough bits as did the generosity of friends and family who have raised £485”

Sarah, Jacobs Mum says.....

Jacob had a fantastic 4k ergo time of 14' 23" and was doing really well on the bike until he had a puncture near Danesfield House...oops forgot to pack spare inner tube! Ran most of the way back to Higginson Park carrying the bike. Supported his friends as the came over the finish line. But very despondent until I joked that he could always join in the last heat of the sprint event which was about to start (which is exactly the same as the standard triathlon apart from a 2k ergo instead of 4k.) So he quickly arranged to borrow a bike and shoes and started the triathlon all over again...

Successfully completed it in 1hr21minutes putting him in 2nd place for the junior sprint event. We're all really proud of him and he said that thinking about Harry helped him get through the final stages when things were really tough.

He was given a special prize by the event organisers for his grit and determination and the press will be giving his chosen charity (the Youth Sport Trust) a plug when they write up the triathlon.

Thanks to everyone who has sponsored him so far. If you'd like to sponsor him now that you know he's done the course (and some!), here's the link http://www.justgiving.com/Jacob-Buckle.

Many, many thanks on behalf of Jacob.

Visit Jacobs Justgiving page for photographs of the event.

Jacob who is an accomplished rower is also getting a new boat very soon and he's decided to call it Harry.

Leanne Runs The Sydney marathon for Harry

2011-10-06T22:07:00.005+01:00

Leanne has run the Sydney Marathon and rasied £838 for Meningitis Research Foundation.

Leanne says "Would like to thank all the people that sponsored me and supported me to run the Sydney marathon today! I’m overwhelmed that so many people have given me so much support :) love everybody that got behind me! My site is still open for donations, click here - love you all! Xx

2011-10-06T21:39:00.004+01:00

DialAFlight have offered to donate £20 per booking direct to the Oxford Transplant Foundation for each booking received over the next 6 months – ie: 21.9.11 - 21.3.12.

This applies to all guests at Harry’s Lunch or bidders on the Silent Auction.

To book call 0208 784 6120 and quote Oxford Transplant Foundation to automatically generate £20 towards the OFT
Charity.

Visit DialAFlight’s website for some great destination ideas &
some great deals on airfares, hotels & car hire!

Bon Voyage!

Harry' Lunch a Great Success

2011-10-06T21:00:00.004+01:00

Harry’s Lunch raised £3,565 plus Waitrose raised an additional £485 via its Community Charity scheme which brings the total to £4050. This may well increase as Dialaflight, in addition to donating our star silent auction prize of a Weekend for Two to Paris, have also offered to donate a further £20 per booking to the charity for guests who book travel services with them. Thank you to all who came and all who through donations and bids supported the event for the Oxford Transplant Foundation.

Harry's own organs were donated via the Oxford Transplant Foundation at the John Radcliffe Hospital and we hope that the event raised awareness of the organ donor scheme and highlight the ongoing need for organs.

The speakers were very moving and we would like to thank Peter Marshall CMG OBE and Miranda Dodwell. Peter is Chairman of Oxford Transplant Foundation and he spoke about the work of the Foundation & the need for more people to register with the Organ Donor scheme & inform others' of their wishes. Peter has firsthand experience as his wife had her first kidney transplant in the 1960s

Also representing the charity was Carol Bradford on behalf of Professor Friend, Founder of the OTF ll: the recipient of a kidney.

Miranda gave a heartfelt talk about her experiences - her sister donated - and about how wonderful it was just to feel normal and be able to do normal everyday things. In addition to Miranda there were at least 3 others at the lunch who had also received kidneys, one person within the last 12 months.

Miranda has supported Harry's Lunch since their beginning in 2007.

The Raffle & Silent Auction raised a large proportion of the funds and could not have been achieved without people's generosity - of time as well as money - individuals, High St businesses and organisations in Marlow & Oxford, Dialaflight, internet gift companies and of course our guests. A full list of the silent auction prizes & donors is listed here.

Wendi Parcell (joint organiser) said 'It's a fabulous sum and it shows how many wonderful people there are out there. I feel privileged to be a part of Harry's Lunch and as always will remember him and the fun he and my daughter Livvy had together.'

Pictures of the lunch can be found here

You can register for organ donation here

Harry at Waitrose

2011-08-30T20:14:00.003+01:00

Please vote for Harry with your green token, given to you by the check out assistant when you complete your shopping. Harry is one of three Community Charities chosen by Waitrose for September and will receive a share of £1000 as per the proportion of tokens received. The donation will go to the Oxford Transplant Foundation - whom Harry's Lunch will raise funds for this year.

Meningitis Awareness Week - September 19-25

2011-08-30T11:18:00.002+01:00

Richard and Judi are to meet Dominic Grieve local MP and Attorney General to discuss Harry and Government support and funding for Meningitis vaccines. This is part of the Meningitis Awareness Week campaign. Will report back on progress.

Thomas Norfolk Wins Harry's Memorial Cup at Spinfield School

2011-08-19T10:45:00.002+01:00

Pilar, Thomas's mum says:-

“I felt immensely proud when Thomas was awarded the Harry Mills Memorial Cup in the Y6 assembly at Spinfield. It meant so much to Thomas as well because it represents the effort and contribution he has made during his time at Spinfield and feels personal as it is in memory of Harry who is still fondly remembered by those at the school”

This is the fourth Harry’s Cup to be presented at Spinfield. Well done Thomas.

Bid Here for the Silent Auction - Bargains Galore

2011-08-18T09:43:00.013+01:00

Glass Heart Original Painting Handmade Cushion

The goodies in the Silent Auction are listed below. Please decide which you would like to bid on and email your bid to Judi - hithemills@clara.co.uk. Judi will email an acknowledgement of your bid.

The silent auction presents the opportunity to win some terrific prizes at bargain prices. In auctions from past years prizes have gone for prices well below there cost - so bid away and do some early Christmas shopping!! All prizes have to go.

This years Silent Auction prizes are:-

1. Weekend for Two to Paris with Dial a Flight, includes flights and 2 nights accommodation in a four star centrally located hotel.

2. 6 months off peak membership at The Marlow Club

3. Original heart glass art by Tracey Holmes

4. Handmade cushion by Claire Rowan

5. One hour Pilates session with Carly Staples

6. Five sacks of logs ~ William White

7. Bed and Breakfast for 2 at The Crowne Plaza, Marlow

8. Champagne dinner for 2 at The Randolph Hotel, Oxford

9. Original Painting by Christine Barnett

10. Dinner for 2 at The Malmaison Restaurant, Oxford

11. Afternoon Tea for 2 at The Compleat Angler, Marlow

12. One hour Meditation Session with Jane Gittens

13. 6 month membership fitness and racquet at Bisham Abbey

14. Jason Wrenn hand made Oak chopping board.

15. Feather and Black single heart duvet.

Alex Green Wins Harry's Cup

2011-06-24T20:39:00.009+01:00

Congratulations to Alex Green who won Harry's cup at the recent Marlow Merlin's awards. A great night was had by all with games, music, great food and ice cream.

More photos - click here.

Harry’s Lunch Wednesday 21st September 2011

2011-06-24T18:57:00.002+01:00

Harry’s Lunch Wednesday 21^st September 2011
In aid of the Oxford Transplant Foundation
www.oxfordtransplant.org.uk

Tickets from Judi Mills 01628 483962 / hithemills@clara.co.uk
or Wendi Parcell 01628 475150 / wendiparcell@sabrehost.net

Venue: St Katharine’s, Parmoor, Frieth RG9 6NN

Time: Pimms & Canapes 12 noon
Lunch served 1pm
Raffle & Auction 3pm

Menu: please advise preferred choice at time of booking

Chicken breast with a cream and tarragon sauce
Salmon fillet with hollandaise
Flat field mushroom stuffed with garlic, herb and pine nuts and served with a tomato sauce

Strawberry shortbread and fruit coulis
Chocolate and chestnut pots

Sydney Marathon Sunday 18th September 2011

2011-05-07T20:20:00.008+01:00

Leanne Webb (22) met Marie whilst travelling in Australia. After hearing Harry’s story she has decided to run The Sydney Marathon on his behalf and raising money for the Youth Sport Trust. Originally from Ellesmere Port she is an ardent Liverpool fan however for her marathon run she will be wearing full Arsenal kit as a tribute to Harry.

Visit leanne's Justgiving site at - http://www.justgiving.com/Leanne-Webb0 and sponsor her marathon run.

Wycombe Half Marathon: 17 July 2011

2011-05-07T20:19:00.001+01:00

Sharon Stokis-Fox, who used to work at John Hampden Grammar School, is again running the Wycombe Half Marathon on behalf of Harry and Meningitis Research. This is the 3^rd time she will have participated in this challenge and it is particularly poignant as Sharon lost her own son, Daniel, in an accident aged 13. You can sponsor Sharon at ‘Paperchain’ the newsagents on Marlow High Street.

Harry’s Treasure

2011-05-07T20:17:00.004+01:00

Geocaching is a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to hide and seek containers with other participants in the activity. Chris Stiddard, Harry’s Science Teacher at Spinfield set up a geocache in Sydney, Australia, some months ago,with the aim of getting Harry’s Treasure back to Marlow. Currently it has travelled over 6000 miles and is somewhere in California.

Chris is about to set sail two new Harry's treasures in the hope that one will make it to the UK. They will be released into the wild in the next month. Harry's Treasure is a travel bug, a type of trackable, and can be found in that section of www.geocaching.com

Tabletop Sale 1 – 7th May

2011-05-07T20:16:00.001+01:00

Many thanks to all those who supported us during the recent tabletop sale held outside our house. We have raised just over £300 for Meningitis charities.

Harry Mills Memorial Cup: Marlow Mini Tournament: 27th March 2011

2011-05-07T20:13:00.002+01:00

The 39^th annual festival took place at Riverwoods with 150 teams and 6000 people enjoying a day of high quality Mini Rugby.

Harry was a key member of the Marlow RUFC U12s team before his death in April 2007 and the Harry Mills Memorial Cup is a special trophy that is awarded each year to the winning u12 side.

Wasps winger Tom Varndell presented the Harry Mills Memorial Cup to the 2011 u12s Festival joint-winners, High Wycombe RUFC and London Irish ARFC.

Marlow u12s AGO, Simon King gave a speech explaining the significance of the trophy and congratulating the winners.

Chris Roddick provides the following match report:-

"The Final

High Wycombe v London Irish

Although it was only late March the weather was hot and the ground hard. Both teams had come through their groups stages unbeaten and took to the pitch after already playing a number of tough games. London Irish were clearly a very well drilled and skilful team, Wycombe less so but with a bit more flare. Irish kicked off and were immediately forced on to the defensive, making tackle after tackle. High Wycombe after starting strongly were slower to the breakdown and Irish started to make their possession count and pinned Wycombe back. A loose kick gave Wycombe’s backs a bit of room and Dylan Stephens outpaced his opposite number and looked to have a clear run in until a tremendous covering tackle from the Irish Fullback knocked him into touch. Result: 0-0 at the end of the first half.

Again the second half started with High Wycombe pushing hard; however a break out from defence by Irish forwards forced Hugh Peal into a brave tackle which although successful, damaged his neck. Rightly no chances were taken and an ambulance took Hugh to Wexham Park Hospital (he was fine and out again after a quick scan). Due to the on-pitch medical treatment, the game was switched to a much smaller pitch on which the teams struggled to gain any great advantage. Irish could not make their greater forward fitness count and Wycombe were unable to get their flyers away. In the end a draw was a fair result with both sides happy to remain unbeaten.

All the boys were told about Harry at the presentation of the Cup and were very proud to have won the Cup that bears his name"

National Pirate Day: Friday 27th May 2011

2011-05-07T20:04:00.012+01:00

There were plenty of “Yo-ho-hos” “ A-hoy theres”and “Aaaarrrrs” to be heard on Marlow High Street on Friday 27^th May as National Pirate Day took the town by storm!

Mark Howard & ‘FST the group’ invited all ages to dress-like-a-pirate, have fun and raise some gold doubloons for Harry’s fund at the Meningitis Research Foundation.

FST Pirates encouraged motorists on Marlow Bridge to dig deep and both Spinfield and Bisham primary schools got involved, as did Burgers and Softcat. The Slug and Lettuce hosted a Pirate Day Quiz at 1pm on the day and then it was ‘shiver-me-timbers’ as the pirate party rolled into the Ship in the evening. To date around £2500 has been raised.

Watch out for Pirate Day 2012!

more Photos of the day.

Pirate Video
www.nationalpirateday.com

Marlow Choral Society Concert for Harry

2010-11-22T17:38:00.006Z

The Marlow Choral Society Christmas Concert held on 11^th December, compered by Robin McCallum ITV weather presenter, raised £2,560. Pictured is Jackie Duxbury Concert Director who presented a cheque for £1000 to Richard and Judi Mills for the Harry Mills Meningitis Research Fund. The Choral Society has also given £1,650 to the Willow Foundation, setup by sports presenter Bob Wilson and his wife in memory of their daughter. The Willow Foundation provides days out for children and young people who are terminally ill.

It is wonderful that Harry is still remembered by so many people. It was a terrific evening made all the more poignant because the Marlow Choral Society sang at Harry’s funeral. The £1000 will contribute to research to find a vaccine for this terrible disease.

Next concert May 14^th – new members always welcome and we meet Monday nights at the Methodist Church Hall 8pm in Marlow.

Sharon Runs for Harry Again

2010-10-02T08:04:00.002+01:00

Sharon Fox who new Harry when she was a member of the team of John Hampden Grammar School cleaners, ran the Wycombe Half Marathon again to raise funds for Meningitis Research. Sharon raised £30 which is particularly poignant because she lost her 13 year old son in an accident in 2006.

Harry's Lunch 2010 - A Great Success

2010-09-28T21:38:00.014+01:00

2010 was the most successful Harry's Lunch ever. With a record number of over 120 guests, the event raised an amazing £3250 for the Child Bereavement Charity. Ann Chalmers in a moving speech on behalf of the charity said that the funds were vital in their work of supporting families and professionals dealing with bereavement.

It was a wonderful occasion on a sunny day on Wednesday 22^nd September attended by many local people as well as others from further afield. The lunch took place at the historic former nunnery St Katherines in Parmoor near Frieth . Guests were welcomed with a Pimms and canapés reception and serenaded with the beautiful voice of Lizzie Fulton, a talented Marlow singer.

A delicious lunch followed with coffee and hedgehog biscuits to complete the meal.

The success of the lunch was largely due to the generosity of local businesses and individuals who donated wonderful prizes either for the raffle or Silent Auction. There were also many people who sponsored various aspects of the lunch like the Pimms Reception and and wine for the lunch. Joint organisers Wendi Parcell and Judi Mills said “ we were overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of everyone involved with the lunch”.

St Katharine's has been the venue for all three annual Harry's lunches to date, and has enthusiastically embraced the annual theme - sunflowers (2008), butterflies (2009) and hedgehogs (2010). '" Beth and her staff always go the extra mile to make sure Harry's Lunch is a truly special occasion & we really appreciate their time, understanding and hard work. Harry was a very special boy and it's wonderful to have such an event to remember him by as well as raising valuable funds for charity," said Judi Mills.

The next 'Harry's Lunch' is at St Kathrine’s,Parmoor will be on Weds 21st September 2011.

Please click here to see photo's

Sponsors Raffle and Silent Auction (click)

See Feature in the Bucks Free Press

Nina Hamelink Wins Harry's Fair Play Award

2010-09-16T18:19:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Nina who won The Harry Mills Fair Play Award at Spinfield School.

Marks and Spencer Marlow Raise £954 for Harry

2010-07-08T19:26:00.008+01:00

Marks & Spencer Simply Foods in Marlow have raised £784 in total for Harry’s fund at the Meningitis Research Foundation. A sponsored walk raised £262, sponsorship raised £180 in and the remainder was raised in store. Additionally M&S have added a further £170.

The M&S team are pictured on the sponsored walk in June - pictured from left to right Cameron, Jill, Wanda, Doug, Clowie and Yvonne.

Click here for more photos

Funds Raised in Harry's Memory and Progress on Vaccines

2010-06-03T22:06:00.016+01:00

TOTAL FUNDS RAISED

The total funds raised in memory of Harry are as follows (all on-line and off-line donations) :
Meningitis Trust £2871.50
Meningitis Research Foundation £91,419.06
Youth Sports Trust £6748.67
Total £101,039.23

Many thanks from the Mills family for all your efforts. This is a fantastic sum of money that is still growing. A wonderful tribute to Harry's memory.

MENINIGITIS VACCINES

Harry died of infection from a strain of the Meningitis B virus and septicaemia. The difficulty with finding a vaccine for MenB is that many strains exist and the immune system does not recognise it as a threat.

We have attempted to provide an update on vaccines and further information and guidance on progress. Should you have any questions or need further information please email to richardm@flexit-resources.co.uk.

Linda Glennie, Head of Research and Medical Information, Meningitis Research Foundation, has provided the following update for Harry's Fund Raisers..
"Menveo (licensed by Novartis) has just received its European Licence today, so suddenly it’s news again.

Menveo could be quite significant, but unfortunately it doesn’t cover meningococcal B.
It does cover meningococcal A, C, W135 and Y. It’s the same technology as the MenC vaccine so we all expect it to work very well. For now it will probably be used in the UK for travellers to places with high incidence of MenA or MenW135 like Africa and Saudi Arabia, for people with particular immunodeficiencies that make infection with MenY or MenW135 more likely, or people who are household contacts of someone who is ill with one of these strains.

However, a bigger question is whether the UK should use Menveo routinely. Many people think that in order to maintain immunity to MenC, we will need a teenage booster introduced in the near future. Instead of using MenC for that, we could use Menveo. The number of cases of Men A,Y and W135 in the UK is quite low—just over 70 cases in 2008, more in 2009 but the figures aren’t published yet. Some people think these numbers are too low to warrant using Menveo. However, if you can save 70 people from potential death or disability just by switching one vaccine for another, we think there’s a pretty strong case actually. Also, a teenage booster would catch people at the age when they are most likely to go off travelling to places that may well have higher risk of these strains even if they aren’t on an official list of high risk destinations. The US for example has quite high numbers of MenY cases.

Also, it looks like cases of MenY are starting to go up—still very low, but the rate of increase is starting to make people take notice. In the US, they went from having almost no MenY cases to MenY accounting for around a third of all meningo cases within a very few years.

At the moment Menveo is licensed for ages 11 to 55. However, there is very good evidence that it protects in younger children, so a licence for babies and children may not be too far away. Once that happens, the vaccine could be used more widely."

See the following for further information (click on each):-

Menova

MRF ‘Ask the expert’ on teenage booster and Menveo

Why does MRF still fund MenB research?

MRF Site Visit to Imperial when we looked at 2 MRF funded MenB vaccine projects

MRF Annual Review

Harry’s Lunch Weds 22nd Sept 2010

2010-06-03T19:18:00.005+01:00

We're delighted to be running Harry's lunch for the third year on Wednesday 22nd September 2010. It will be held once again at St Katherines in Parmoor and the chosen charity this year is the Child Bereavement Trust.

The menu will be a choice of Salmon with Pesto Crust, Chicken Provencale or the vegetarian option of Aubergine and Mozzarella Bake/ Towers. This will be served with seasonal vegetables and minted potatoes. This will be followed by a dessert of Chocolate Brownie with Cream or Meringue Hedgehogs with Fruit Couli. Tea and Coffee will then be served.

Please could you advise us of your choice when booking your ticket.

We do hope you can come along and bring your friends. It would be lovely to see you all again this year for this fun and sociable occasion and also to raise valuable funds for charity. As you know we do like a theme and this year is no different. It is to be Harvest time with the addition of hedgehogs!

Tickets remain at the same price of £25.00.

For tickets or more information please contact Judi 01628 483962 hithemills@clara.co.uk or Wendi on 01628 475150 wendiparcell@sabrehost.net.

Thanking you for your continued support.

Wendi and Judi

Marlow Merlins Rugby Awards Evening: 7th May 2010

2010-06-03T18:40:00.002+01:00

An annual event, the Merlins Awards Evening is an opportunity for the parents & boys to get together over a curry and celebrate achievements both on and off the pitch.

The Harry Mills award was presented by Ali Buckle, Head Coach & Judi Mills and recognised ‘enthusiasm, passion and commitment’ to rugby and Marlow RFC in particular. This year’s winner was Leighton Jones who despite not having anyone playing for the Merlins, faithfully coaches every week, a smile on his face, through wind, rain and snow, thereby demonstrating Harry’s values.

Ali went on to say "Leighton Jones is Fixtures Secretary and a senior player at the club and asked the Merlins whether we needed any coaching help at the start of last season. He has two girls and a very young son, none of whom play rugby, so he comes down to help out purely because he loves the club, the game and the age group. He makes training fun, and the boys have really benefitted from his unique coaching style this season. A worthy winner of our most special award, which this year took the form of a nice "Harry" engraved tankard."

Marlow Merlins U15s Easter Rugby Tour & Dorset Tournament

2010-06-03T18:36:00.008+01:00

Over Easter, Marlow Merlins toured in France, playing Montigny-le-Bretonneux u15s. Hard fought, the boys played well but eventually lost to the stronger French side.

John Watson (Marlow Merlins) presented the winners with a pair of ‘Harry’s socks’ and said that the team would be remembering Harry with a minute’s silence during their game on 25^th April.The French players were touched by Harry’s story and wanted to wear the socks at their next match, Thierry Lucidarme (Montigny-le-Brettoneux) sent the attached photos of his team wearing ‘Harry’s socks’ during a match the following weekend.

Harry’s socks were also presented to Dorset (see email below)..

“Just to let you know that that the Merlin's remembered Harry today. We travelled to North Dorset, we told them of Harry and what he meant to us and gave their captain a pair of "HM" socks. We then had 30 seconds of clapping and a noisy 3 cheers for Harry. We came second in the rugby but made some great friends and hopefully they will visit us next season.” The teams are pictured observing a minutes silence for Harry.