Couple behind Pink Ladies' Tractor Run 'humbled' by MBEs in King's Birthday Honours
A couple whose celebrated Pink Ladies' Tractor Road Run has raised almost £1.3m for breast cancer research said they feel "humbled" after being made MBEs in this year's King's Birthday Honours.
Annie and John Chapman first organised the hugely popular annual event in 2004.
The eye-catching spectacle sees women wearing pink as they drive decorated tractors through Norfolk and Suffolk.
The first year involved 50 tractors, but the event, which raises money for Cancer Research UK, has grown so much that 191 tractors have been signed up for this year's run.
The Pink Ladies' Tractor Road Run has raised almost £1.3m for breast cancer research (Image: Charlotte Bond)
The Chapmans, who live in Pulham St Mary, near Diss, said the recognition, which follows Mrs Chapman's British Empire Medal awarded in 2014, was a "huge honour".
Mrs Chapman, 83, said: "I feel very humbled and very proud. When we started this it was only meant to be a one-off - a bit of fun - and it has just grown and grown.
"I think part of the reason for its success is that it is for the ladies and that the charity Cancer Research UK is just such a good charity, particularly for breast cancer.
"Twenty-one years is a long time, but we still get a buzz out of it. This is a huge honour."
The Pink Ladies' Tractor Road Run (Image: Denise Bradley)
The honour was awarded because of the pair's services to fundraising for Cancer Research UK.
Mr Chapman, 74, said: "I think this is a recognition of what the event has achieved. Annie and I set it on its way, but it's such a wonderful event.
"The years have just whizzed by. When we started it, it was just supposed to be a one-off, but it's taken over our lives!"
Annie and John Chapman (Image: Angela Sharpe)
The tractor run starts at the 100th Bomb Group Airfield in South Norfolk, across the Waveney Valley into North Suffolk.
It then passes through Harleston to a picnic lunch at Gawdy Hall before returning to Thorpe Abbotts.
This year's run will take place on Sunday, July 6.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Warning against West Wickham KFC expansion due to 'smell, rubbish and traffic'
Furious residents have warned against KFC's expansion plan, claiming their local branch has brought smells, rubbish, traffic - and lowered house prices. Hundreds of locals in West Wickham objected when plans for a new drive-thru restaurant were submitted more ten years ago. But despite the protests the plans were green-lit by councillors and the KFC was built on a site previously housing a tapas bar, and before that a pub. Now, with KFC announcing it intends to build 500 more restaurants across the UK and Ireland in the next ten years, residents on Cavendish Way - near the controversial drive-thru - are warning others to object. John Urie, 74, says he opposed the plans when they were first announced, and that he has complained to the local council several times since. (Image: Tony Kershaw/ SWNS) The pensioner claims his garden is constantly flooded with a 'stale fat' smell and he is unable to open his windows in the summer due to the loud machine noises. He said: 'They have a generator. In the summer we try to open our windows and there is an overwhelming noise. It is like a constant rumbling. 'There is also an awful smell, sometimes it is so bad that we have to go inside. We have complained to the council but nothing has been done. 'When it first opened there was absolute chaos with the traffic. The buses couldn't get past, it was a nightmare. Now it is all Deliveroo drivers, so it isn't so bad. 'We always get litter outside. It is ridiculous. There are always rats running in our garden. 'We thought about moving a few times, but I just think why should we. We were here first, they should be the ones to move.' On the KFC expansion the resident of over ten years said: 'The planners need to consider what it is like for the local people. Anyone facing a KFC near them needs to object [...] strenuously.' Engy Mankarious, 49, who has lived in her home next to the drive- thru for 15 years, claims the side effects have even devalued her home. She said: 'I was here when they started building it and it is the worst thing to ever happen to me. The smell is horrible. I can't open my windows even in the peak of summer. It is a strong fat and grease smell. 'There are schools in the area and the kids get attracted to it. It is not right. It is fuelling obesity. They don't need junk food around the corner. 'There is always rubbish on the street and in my driveway. I have to pick it up every morning. 'My next door neighbour moved because of it. I have considered doing the same a few times but KFC have devalued my house. People see it and don't want to live here. 'There are always foxes and rats raiding the bins. I can't let my dog out unsupervised anymore.' Lorraine Dunleavy, 69, says she also hates living near the fast food chain and much preferred the previous occupants. The resident of four years said: 'I don't like it. I lost my sister's dog because of KFC. He escaped from my garden to chase the smell. 'People drop their rubbish in the woods nearby. There are always chicken bones everywhere. People in the cars play loud music from their windows. 'The smell always drifts down to my house. 'At 5am a rubbish truck comes down and makes a horrible screeching noise which wakes me up. I much preferred having a pub there.' However Phillip Charsley, 60, however says he much prefers living next to a KFC than he would a rowdy pub - even if he dislikes the chicken. (Image: Tony Kershaw/ SWNS) The resident of four years said: 'I haven't noticed any problems with it. There is a bit of a smell, but it is no worse than a barbeque. 'It used to be a pub and I can't imagine anything worse than that. The sound would have been unbearable. 'It is not the nicest thing to have next door but it isn't really effecting us. The litter was bad for a while, but they seem to have improved it. 'The food is awful, but I don't have many complaints living by it.' KFC was approached for comment.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Parents hit out at 'prison' shutters on toilets during lessons at York school
PARENTS have hit out after York's largest school installed shutters across all the main toilets to prevent pupils from using them during lessons. Archbishop Holgate's School has put in pull-down shutters so the five main toilet areas across the Hull Road site cannot be used by its 1,900 students when they should be in class and the toilets are unsupervised. Photos taken by pupils of the new measures prompted the launch of a 'scrap the shutters' petition. It has been signed by more than 343 people and calls on the school 'to help give our kids their basic human right to use a toilet in school back'. The shutters prevent access to the toilets during lesson times when the main toilet areas are not supervised. Image: teacher Lucie Pond sought to reassure parents, saying there was no toilet ban and no change to the toilet policy, but the shutters had been installed for 'safeguarding reasons'. Students are encouraged to take comfort breaks during the 20-minute morning break and the 40-minute lunch period when the main toilets are unlocked and monitored. An accessible toilet is also available in every building, in areas where staff are present, for anyone who needs it throughout the day. Mrs Pond told The Press: 'We have seen an increasing amount of vandalism in the toilets. That comes with a cost in terms of staff and repair and replacement costs. Equally, these are areas of school that are unsupervised during lesson time so for safeguarding, we feel it is necessary to not have them open." RECOMMENDED READS: 'The world is changing': head at top York school joins others in smartphone plea Top North Yorkshire school set to expand and change its name 'Fantastic news' as more than 5,000 children eligible for free school meals She said shutters were chosen because a door would not have been wide enough to fill the large gap that leads to the toilets. But some parents who backed the petition said the school now looks like a prison while others criticised the 'waste of money'. Others voiced concerns for children who need unrestricted toilet access for medical reasons; for girls at certain times of the month who might be too embarrassed to ask to go; and for pupils who may have accidents if not allowed to take comfort breaks when they need to. Andrew Fraser told The Press one of his daughters had sent him a photo of the locked-up toilets at the end of the first day back at school and he had contacted the school and board of governors. "They told me children have locked themselves in the toilets to miss lessons – but that's what every generation of children going to school has done. 'All the girls are disgusted by it. If they have a period, they are unable to get into the toilets. They are expecting the whole school to go in the break and lunch times. 'These shutters wouldn't have been cheap. They could have got two staff members to patrol the toilets instead. 'I have three children going through the school and a fourth who would be going there but, at the moment, we are not even thinking about it.' In her letter to parents, Mrs Pond said: 'Teachers are trusted to use their professional judgement when students ask to leave lessons to use the toilet. If permission is granted, students are issued a pass allowing them to access the designated toilets that remain open. 'Any student with a medical pass is allowed to leave lessons as frequently as needed and without question. 'We fully recognise that there will be times when students need to go during lessons. Our aim is to balance the genuine needs of students with our responsibility to ensure a safe, secure, and well-supervised environment for all.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Woman Wonders If Working from Home Is a ‘Backward Step for Women' After Taking on More Household Tasks Than Her Husband
A woman on Mumsnet said she works from home and takes on more domestic tasks than her husband 'I am picking up most of the domestic tasks, shopping, cleaning, loading the dishwasher, cooking, running children around,' she explained of her household duties Now, she's questioning whether the WFH lifestyle is a 'backward step for women,' considering her scenarioA wife is wondering if working from home is worth all the hype. In a post on the U.K. forum Mumsnet, the woman explained how she and her husband worked from home during COVID, but now, her husband goes into the office three times a week while she goes in once a month. 'We both work full time and both have demanding jobs. When he is in the office he gets up around 8, showers and goes into the office. I am picking up most of the domestic tasks, shopping, cleaning, loading the dishwasher, cooking, running children around, etc.,' she wrote. is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! However, she added that she had noticed that working from home 'has resulted in me taking on more at home while he gets to swan about — that is a simplification but you get what I mean.' The increased workload made the wife question the WFH lifestyle. 'The more I think about it the more I think it is a backward step for women and although at times WFH is very convenient it actually means longer hours, I often start work at 6.30am, and more of the domestic tasks expected to fall on women's shoulders,' she wrote. She turned to the forum to ask if this was the 'experience of others' and if she should return to the office. Most of the users didn't think this was an issue about women, but more so an issue in her marriage. 'I think it falls to whoever is at home, not my experience that it is the woman choosing to work from home more. If you can go into the office more why don't you? And also you shouldn't be working extra hours, why would you work for free?' one commentator wrote. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Others found working from home to be beneficial. 'No, I think WFH has been liberating for many women and many couples. This does seem to be a bit more about the man you married and your domestic imbalance,' one person replied. 'For a start, what's stopping him getting up at the same time as you and getting stuck into his domestic responsibilities before he leaves for work?' Read the original article on People
