Woman to take part in Great Wall of China walk in memory of sister

A woman is hoping to raise thousands of pounds for a cancer charity by walking part of the Great Wall of China in memory of her sister.

Louise Langford, of Swallow Drive, Bingham, will walk in memory of Sally Blackman, who died in December, aged 43.

She will be raising money for Maggie’s Cancer Centre, Nottingham, which provided support to Sally and her family during her battle with breast cancer.

Sally had planned to renew her wedding vows with her husband, Elon, this year at an event inspired by the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, from the children’s novel Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.

Sally did not have the chance to fulfil her wish but Louise has decided to hold a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in June to raise money ahead of her challenge.

Louise is planning to hold six tea parties over two days and will have 50 spaces available at each party, so up to 300 people can buy tickets.

“The garden will be decorated with balloons and figurines and we will be setting up a tombola, a pick and mix, a cake stall and face painting in front of the house, which will be free for people to attend,” she said.

People attending the tea will be served canapés and sandwiches, handmade cakes, a cream tea and a glass of Pimms or a glass of bubbly.

Louise has already raised £1,106 at a Ladies Lunch at Tom Brown’s Brasserie, Gunthorpe, and is planning a pub quiz, and dog walk, and is taking part in a Tough Mudder event.

She said she had never done anything like the Great Wall of China walk before, but was looking forward to it.

“I’m very excited. I feel like I am doing something for a great cause,” she said.

“The people who run Maggie’s are amazing.

“When you have somebody with cancer there could be things you don’t want to talk to family about because it’s upsetting.

“There are people who have cancer who have no family and it’s somewhere for them to go.”

Louise’s mother, Diane Langford, runs gift shop Pods, Petals and Presents on Market Street, with her other daughter, Michelle Langford.

Diane said: “One of Sally’s wishes was to renew her vows with her husband because this year she would have been married for 20 years, and she wanted it to be themed on the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

“We have told quite a few people who come in the shop what we are proposing to do and have had a great response from them.

“It’s a bit more of an interesting way of raising money rather than just asking people to sign sponsor forms.”

Louise has to raise at least £3,500 to take part in the trek but is aiming to hit a target of £10,000 and is hoping to raise at least £3,000 from the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party alone.

Sally completed a Race For Life at Clumber Park two years ago in support of Cancer Research UK and last year Diane sold Beanie Babies in her shop to raise money for the charity.

“Even though a lot of them didn’t know Sally, our customers have supported us generously, from the Race For Life she did to things we have sold in the shop to raise money for the charity,” Diane said.

“We would like to say thank you to the customers who showed a great amount of sympathy with cards and flowers when Sally passed away.

“It is amazing how many people’s lives cancer affects and you don’t realise it until it’s your own family.”

The tea party will take place on June 6 and 7.

Louise is looking for people to create cardboard cut-outs of characters from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.

Anyone who might be able to help, or wants more information on the tea party, can visit the shop or contact Louise on 07812 044712.

Anyone who wants to donate to Louise’s Great Wall of China challenge can visit www.just giving.com/Louise-Langford2