Latest news with #StHelenaHospice
The Irish Sun
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
I rescued abandoned 1929 Singer car I learned to drive 65 years ago after it was left to rot – now it's as good as new
A WOMAN, 81, has been reunited with the car she learnt to drive in six decades after he father saved it from a scrapheap. Merriel Gallifant's father, Harry Booth, bought the 1929 Singer Junior from a scrapyard in 1961, and the teenager, then 16, used it to learn to drive. 5 Merriel Gallifant grinning with her first love in 2025 Credit: SWNS 5 The 1929 Singer Junior kept popping up throughout her life Credit: SWNS Quickly becoming a grease monkey, she fondly remembers practising gearstick changes in front of her father's Old Cottage Paint shop in Stanway, Essex. Sadly, just a year later, her Dad flogged her beloved wheels to David and Sylvia Rouse for a fiver. Astonishingly, Merriel was reunited with her old flame at a classic car rally thirty years later. The Rouse's were displaying the well-loved wheels at a car rally when Merriel spotted the old banger. Read more She exclaimed, 'That's my Car!' and showed the couple a snap of her teenage self sitting on the bonnet back in the day. Mr Rouse was very attached to the Singer, using it daily, taking it for spins at vintage car club events, competing in hill climbs, driving tests and navigational rallies and tours. The couple kept their bargain motor for 57 years before David died in 2017. Mrs Rouse sold their vintage car collection but kept the Singer until Merriel approached her, buying the token from her childhood back in 2019. Most read in Motors Selflessly, Merriel waved goodbye to her four-wheeled first love once again, selling it at auction for £4.1k and donating every penny to St Helena Hospice. Auctioneer, Lewis Rabett from auctioneers Reeman Dansie, said: 'It's a beautiful little car with a heart-warming story. 5 The classic car was sold for just a fiver in 1962 Credit: SWNS 5 It's pristine interior could have come out of a time machine- it is almost completely unchanged Credit: SWNS 5 Merriel at 16 perched a top her first love Credit: SWNS 'A proper full-circle moment. There's even a photo of Merriel with the car now and back when she was a teenager – not much has changed!' He added: 'It's a niche buy, but for the right person, this car is an absolute gem. It's been loved and lived in – and it shows.'
The Sun
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
I rescued abandoned 1929 Singer car I learned to drive 65 years ago after it was left to rot – now it's as good as new
A WOMAN, 81, has been reunited with the car she learnt to drive in six decades after he father saved it from a scrapheap. Merriel Gallifant's father, Harry Booth, bought the 1929 Singer Junior from a scrapyard in 1961, and the teenager, then 16, used it to learn to drive. 5 5 Quickly becoming a grease monkey, she fondly remembers practising gearstick changes in front of her father's Old Cottage Paint shop in Stanway, Essex. Sadly, just a year later, her Dad flogged her beloved wheels to David and Sylvia Rouse for a fiver. Astonishingly, Merriel was reunited with her old flame at a classic car rally thirty years later. The Rouse's were displaying the well-loved wheels at a car rally when Merriel spotted the old banger. She exclaimed, 'That's my Car!' and showed the couple a snap of her teenage self sitting on the bonnet back in the day. Mr Rouse was very attached to the Singer, using it daily, taking it for spins at vintage car club events, competing in hill climbs, driving tests and navigational rallies and tours. The couple kept their bargain motor for 57 years before David died in 2017. Mrs Rouse sold their vintage car collection but kept the Singer until Merriel approached her, buying the token from her childhood back in 2019. Selflessly, Merriel waved goodbye to her four-wheeled first love once again, selling it at auction for £4.1k and donating every penny to St Helena Hospice. Auctioneer, Lewis Rabett from auctioneers Reeman Dansie, said: 'It's a beautiful little car with a heart-warming story. 5 5 5 'A proper full-circle moment. There's even a photo of Merriel with the car now and back when she was a teenager – not much has changed!' He added: 'It's a niche buy, but for the right person, this car is an absolute gem. It's been loved and lived in – and it shows.'
Daily Mirror
22-04-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Woman tracks down vintage car she drove as teen and saves it from grim fate
Merriel Gallifant, from Essex, learned to drive the 1929 Singer Junior when she was just 16 - but sold it again for £5 in 1962. She then launched a bid to track down the vehicle A pensioner tracked down the 1929 car she learned to drive in age 16 after she salvaged it from the scrapheap. Merriel Gallifant's father Harry Booth bought the 1929 Singer Junior from a scrapyard in 1961 and the teenager decided it would be ideal to learn to drive in. The 81-year-old fondly remembers practising gearstick changes in front of her father's Old Cottage Paint shop in Stanway, Essex. Mr Booth then sold the Singer to couple David and Sylvia Rouse who bought it for £5 in 1962. Incredibly, Merriel was then reunited with the car around 30 years later. Mr and Mrs Rouse were showing it at a car rally when Merriel showed Mr Rouse an old photo of her sitting on Singer's bonnet after exclaiming: "That's my car!" Mr Rouse used the car every day and took it to vintage car club events, competed in hill climbs, driving tests and navigational rallies and tours The couple kept it for 57 years before he died in 2017. Mrs Rouse decided to sell their car collection but kept the Singer until Merriel became the owner again in 2019 - buying it for a second time. And now she has sold it once again through auctioneers Reeman Dansie for £4,100 with all proceeds being donated to St Helena Hospice. It was sold at auction with a large file of historical documents and a collection of photographs. Lewis Rabett, head of the collectors department, said: "First of all, it is a lovely vehicle and has a very nice end to quite a happy story. It has come full circle and there is a nice photograph of Merriel next to the car today and one from when she was a teenager." Speaking ahead of the auction on April 12, he said: "I think it is quite a specialist classic vehicle. It's not necessarily going to appeal to everyone - they require specialist knowledge to work on and drive. But a combination of the history, lovely condition, and the fact the car has been used and enjoyed for years, for anyone with a collection of cars, this is going to be something they are really keen to acquire."
BBC News
27-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Colchester hospice boss hits out at government over NI rise
A hospice boss has warned the government of the "very real consequences" of increasing cost pressures as he cuts the number of inpatient Jarman-Howe, chief executive of St Helena Hospice in Colchester, Essex, spoke out ahead of a planned rise in National Insurance for team is cutting services and implementing a recruitment freeze despite "record demand" after it was left facing a £1.1m funding Jarman-Howe said: "We can't leave it because if we did, in a few years we would run out of money." St Helena Hospice was name-checked by North West Essex MP and Conservative opposition leader, Kemi Badenoch, as she addressed Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions in Parliament last Badenoch called for hospices to be exempt from the planned NI rise for employers, which comes into effect next month, but the government says the rise is needed to help fund the Jarman-Howe said: "The government is effectively robbing charitable hospices to fund the NHS when we know that hospices take the pressure off the NHS." He added: "We deliver cost-effective palliative care in the community and we deliver better support and better outcomes for patients and families, so this is actually going to cost the NHS more and is going to lead to less effective and less consistent support for patients and families."The hospice says it is providing support to a record 4,800 people this year, but is cutting back its services by removing 10 inpatient beds, leaving just eight available. Clash at PMQs Mr Jarman-Howe added: "So that's 10 beds where we know there are people being cared for in corridors in Colchester General Hospital that need access to our care and support and we are not going to be able to afford to re-open them, so there's a very real consequence of these financial pressures."But we have to do the right thing and we have to make sure what we're doing is affordable and that St Helena is here for the long term."In April, National Insurance contributions by employers will rise from 13.8% to 15%, with the rest of the NHS and public sector excluded from the increase, but not PMQs, the Conservatives called for that to change, asking that pharmacies, care providers and private hospices were all given Labour government says hospices have already been given £100m in extra money, although critics point out this is for capital projects, like new buildings, and not day-to-day spending. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Conservatives wanted the "benefits" of the tax rise "but they can't say how they're going to pay for it". Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hospices plea for more help despite grant money
Hospices say they need more financial help to pay staff salaries, despite a £100m pledge for the sector from government. The capital grant was welcomed by palliative care sites in the East of England, including St Helena Hospice in Colchester. Chief executive Mark Jarman-Howe said the money would provide "short-term budget relief", but said funds were also needed for salaries "which is where we need urgent help". He said hospices had to plan for additional National Insurance contributions from April as well as above inflation national minimum and living wage rises. Health Secretary Wes Streeting made the funding announcement after hospices revealed how they had reduced their number of beds due to financial pressures. The government said the capital grant was "the biggest investment in a generation" and would go towards improving buildings, equipment and accommodation. St Helena Hospice is expected to receive £237,083. Mr Jarman-Howe welcomed the grant but said: "We cannot use this funding for salaries which is where we need urgent help." Kevin Clements, chief executive of East Anglia's Children's Hospices in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, echoed calls for a long-term funding model. "This couldn't be more important for the children and families we care for," Mr Clements said. She said with only 15% of total income coming from government, the "public's donations and fundraising are more important to us than ever". This was split amongst the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, East Anglia's Children's Hospices, St Elizabeth Hospice and the St Helena Hospice. James Sanderson, chief executive at Sue Ryder, said: "We are encouraged by the prime minister's commitment to further improvements to end-of-life care in the upcoming 10-year plan for the NHS, and hope today's welcome boost indicates a long term commitment from this government to people at the end of life, which is so greatly needed." Liz Searle, chief executive of Keech Hospice in Bedfordshire, said the funding was "extremely welcome". But she also said money was still needed to help pay staff. Arthur Rank Hospice Charity - £235,374 East Anglia's Children's Hospices - £222,453 Farleigh Hospice - £268,268 Havens Hospices - £261,310 Hospice of St Francis - £121,619 Keech Hospice Care - £189,753 Lakelands Hospice - £9,251 Priscilla Bacon - £3,958 Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care - £278,579 South Bucks Hospice - £19,251 St Clare Hospice - £144,945 St Elizabeth Hospice - £239,262 St Helena Hospice - £237,083 St Luke's Hospice, Basildon - £256,843 St Nicholas Hospice Care - £97,852 Sue Ryder (unadjusted)- £1,250,000 The Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House - £81,531 Willen Hospice - £143,687 Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk. Hospice parents urge government to rethink tax rise 'It's heartbreaking': Hospices planning cuts to jobs and beds Hospice warns funding loss would be 'catastrophic'
