Former Thame head teacher compères charity fun day

THE former head teacher of John Hampden School in Thame, Alan Haigh, was once more where he always loved to be – at the heart of an event bringing the community of Thame together for a good cause.

Alan Haigh chats to some of the children taking part in the Charty Fund Day – Image courtesy of The Oxford Mail

The event was Saturday’s Charity Football and Family Fun Day, held at the ASM stadium, home of Thame United, to raise much needed funds for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance in memory of four year-old Barnaby Cork who died last December after a tragic accident. Stuart Gibson, the man who came up with the idea for the event, told Thame.Net: “The day was an amazing success with an estimated 400 people attending during the course of the day. The overriding factor from the day was that everyone had such a great, fun day from the bouncy castle, face painting, soft play areas for the little ones, to Zorb football, the princess corner, an ice cream van, balloon artistry, cake stall, sweetie cones, strawberries’n’cream pots, kids lucky number, colouring table, Lego table, giant outdoor games and sumo suit wrestling!

Image courtesy of The Oxford Mail

“The highlights of the day were a luxury raffle from which one lucky person won themselves a week-long holiday in a Mallorca villa, and of course the football match where the TVAA XI, mainly made up of the dads of children attending John Hampden School, ran out 2-1 winners over the Iron Maiden XI.

“It was amazing to see former head teacher, Alan Haigh, compère the event,” added Stuart, “which he did with his usual good humour and wit! He said how much he had enjoyed being involved in a community event again!”

Stuart concluded: “The people of Thame yet again could not be surpassed in their support of this amazing charity, and as organisers we were extremely lucky to have such brilliant people on the committee in getting the event off the ground. There are already plans in the diary for 2018 as the Iron Maiden team are keen to be part of the event again next year!”