An i-limb Hand for Becky
The story behind the fund-raising
Becky Palmer has been principal trombone of Hunstanton Concert Band since she joined us in 2007.
Becky has never let the fact that she was born without a right hand stop her doing what she wanted. Using the
basic National Health supplied hands, which have one simple gripping action, she plays trombone, piano, guitar
and trumpet and is a keen and competitive tennis and squash player.
She was principal trombone of the National Schools Symphony Orchestra for two years and, whilst at the
University of Reading, conducted the University Concert Band.
Last year she captained the winning Ladies City League Division 3 tennis team, won the Glebe House
tennis tournament and was in the winning team of the Castle Acre Mixed League.
Becky is a Primary School Teacher specialising in music and also teaches music privately. She also works at Corders
Budgens in Fakenham.
One of the hands she uses is operated by pulling a cord with the left hand and the other, which is electrically powered,
frequently breaks down. Both are heavy, unwieldy and unsightly.
The i-limb Hand, at a basic cost of £9,000
but rising to £30,000 with 'options'and user training, has individual movement of all four fingers and the thumb together with
a rotating wrist, all electronically controlled by the muscles of the forearm. This would give Becky far more control of
her trombone slide, allow her to play the piano far more naturally - and looks wonderfully natural and realistic.
Also, Becky says, it would allow her to use a knife and fork to eat - at present, when eating out, she has to select very
carefully from the menu. Another plus would be that she would have more control when walking her dog!
On Wednesday, 11th March, 2009 a joint lecture given by The Royal Society of Edinburgh and The Royal Academy of Engineering examined in some depth
Touch Bionics, the company that manufactures i-Limb, and the way its products can transform the lives of those have the chance to use them.
Any excess funds raised by this appeal will be donated to the registered charity, The Limbless Assocation
OK, so what's happening?
A surprise gift - just before Christmas!
In December 2010, four members of Hunstanton Concert Band responded to a request for a 'very small ensemble' and played carols at a local
hotel function. Calling themselves Hunstanton Concert Brass they thoroughly enjoyed the experience - and Becky was one of the four! This year the
quartet (Alf Ball on Trumpet, Katrina Barrow on Trumpet, Becky Palmer on Trombone and Tony Foster on Tuba) were asked to play at the Christmas
Singalong held at St. Edmund's church.The church was packed
and everyone - players, singers bell ringers and the audience - were smiling by
the end of the evening. Suddenly Counsellor Richard Bird was called to the front where he made a short speech. He presented a bucket of cash,
collected at the recent Carol Concert in the Town Hall, to Alf Ball, the leader of Hunstanton Concert Brass, and said, "The organisers of the
Carol Concert held in the Town Hall have decided that this collection should go to a worth charity of your choosing!". There was a bit of a
nudge and a wink about this - the quartet instantly thought, "Hand Aid!". So, after counting all the cash, Hand Aid has benefited to the tune
of £200.10! What a surprise - and what a wonderful thought by the organisers of the Carol Concert. Thank you to Richard and to all of
your colleagues behind this popular annual Christmas event in the Town Hall.
A large donation given by Hunstanton & District Lions Club
Hand Aid has received yet another wonderful donation - this time from our local Lions Club. The members have generously given
£500 to our charity. A very big 'Thank You' to the Club and its members for supporting Becky so magnificently.
The Lions Club of Hunstanton & District was chartered in 1980, its
members wishing to help the less fortunate people within the Hunstanton
Area. Their aims were simple:-
* Community Service,
* Fund-raising to help the less fortunate within the community and further afield,
* and have fun and fellowship whilst doing it.
The Lions Club of Hunstanton & District has continued to go from strength to strength, and after over 30 years, the same aims are still
holding true.
The club is in Region 1, Zone A of District MD105EA, and is always looking for new members and will offer a warm welcome to all visitors.
A major donation from the Sandringham Flower Show!
In September, 2010 an application for a donation was sent to the Charity Committee of the Sandringham Flower Show.
After the 2011 show the Committee considered our application and have very kindly donated the magnificent sum of £1,500 to Hand Aid. This donation has given the
fund raising effort a big lift and we are most grateful to the Sandringham Estate Cottage Horticultural Society Trust for their very generous support.
Sandringham Flower Show is one of the most prestigious horticultural events in the East of England. Now in its 130th year, it is much more than just a Flower Show. It is a unique
event offering not only the best in horticulture but also an excellent day out, filled with family entertainment.
Set in the magnificent surroundings of Sandringham Park with Sandringham House and Sandringham Church as a backdrop, this one-day Show attracts around 20,000 visitors each year.
From the beginning the Show has been privileged to enjoy Royal patronage and traditionally the Show's Royal Patron attends the Show.
Soon after the donation was received, a reception was held at the Sandringham Visitor Centre for representatives of all those who had been so generously
supported by the scheme. The Chairman, David Reeve, told the guests that approximately £500,000 had been donated since H.M the Queen's Silver Jubilee and
a total of £26,000 had been donated during 2011. The band's Manager, Alf Ball, and the Concert Secretary, Tony Foster, attended the function on behalf of Becky and the band.
The third Hand Aid Concert
On Saturday the 1st October, 2011 we presented the third concert in the Hand Aid series at the Union Church, Westgate in Hunstanton (by kind permission of Rev. David Hulse). A capacity audience enthusiastically applauded the wide variety of music which included numbers featuring music from the James Bond and the Harry Potter films amongst others. The total raised on the night was the magnificent sum of £794.63. We are most grateful for all the donations of wonderful cakes for the interval refreshments and also to all the generous folk who attended the concert. Thank you!
The second Hand Aid Concert
- well, it was brand new actually - oh, you know what I mean!
Hand Aid Concert Two held on Saturday,20th November, 2010 set a new record for the number of players on stage for Hunstanton Concert Band! 27 members were so pleased to be given
another chance to raise money for such a worthy cause. An appreciative audience listened to a wide range of music and were most generous in their support of the raffle - there were
so many prizes it seemed that just about everyone won something! The whole evening, with the raffle, raised a grand total of £690.17 to help the trombone-ometer climb even further
up the scale. A very big 'Thank You!' to the organisers, ticket sellers, raffle ticket sellers, refreshment providers, programme and ticket priners, members of the band, Bridget for
using the Glebe House School bus to chauffeur some members to the venue and the Revd. Adrian Bell for very kindly allowing us to use the church of St. Peter & St. Paul, Fakenham
to stage the concert. Also, thank you to everyone who came!
Wonderful news...
in November, 2010 Becky made the long journey up to Edinburgh for her first meeting with Touch Bionics, the manufacturers of i-Limb. Here Becky discovered that
the new 'arranged' price should be about £23,000 rather than the £30,000 originally mentioned. There is also the possibility that the local Primary Care Trust
may be able to pay for her training in Norfolk which would avoid a repeat of the Edinburgh trip. Becky was also told that the i-Limb is powered using the muscles in her
forearm - both for opening and closing the hand. This, hopefully, would not require too much training as Becky has already used a hand which works similarly. She was also
shown different ways to change grips by moving the thumb and even how to create new shapes with the fingers. This is all really exciting news - the trombone-ometer has been
redesigned to show the new total we are aiming for.
Sponsored Swim
Our very own tenor sax player, John Doubleday, took part in the 2010 one mile Great East Swim at Alton Water Reservoir near Ipswich. Some swimmers were forced to retire early but not only did John complete the swim in adverse conditions, with high winds and choppy waters, but he also worked hard to accumulate sponsorships of £750 for Hand Aid! This magnificent sum was achieved mostly by a combination of sponsorships from King's Lynn and Hunstanton Rotary Clubs, Fenland Gliding Club and members of the Hunstanton Concert Band. John had family support for the swim - he was joined in the water by his son Peter and daughter Ruth.
Our thanks to the Lynn News for the details.
Hunstanton Rotary Club
We now have a firm pledge from Hunstanton Rotary club for the magnificent sum of £1,000 which has really helped the jolly old trombone-ometer move upwards.
A huge vote of thanks to our local Rotarians for their enthusiastic support!
The appeal was launched on April 10th, 2010 with a special concert presented by the Hunstanton Concert Band in the Union Church, Hunstanton.
We are most grateful to the Rev. David Hulse who very kindly, and enthusiastically, supported the appeal by allowing us to use the Church.
As you can see from the poster the concert was a sell out. The gate receipts, together with donations, got the appeal off to a magnificent start
with a total of £1,470!
News update! The trombone-ometer slide has moved again and has now hit the £11,280 mark boosted by £1,500
donated by the Sandringham Flower Show, £500 given by Hunstanton & District Lions and £200.10 donated by the organisers of the
Hunstanton annual Carol Concert. The exact total is now £11,280.98 which includes some important pledges. If you can help us raise
the total by any amount, large or small, please contact Rachael - details below. Thank you!
Donations can be given by making a cheque payable to"Hand Aid" and mailing it to:
Rachael Davies, 55 Smiths Lane, Fakenham, NR21 8LQ.
For more information about this Appeal and giving to Hand Aid please email
Rachael.
See it on YouTube!
This slideshow is currently appearing on www.youtube.com and was conceived and produced by Jayne Thomas who plays alto saxophone with the band. (Photos by Jan Foster)..
Read all about it in the newspapers!
The local newspapers have been most supportive of the appeal and have published the following stories...
Article that appeared in the EDP on 22nd March
Article that appeared in the Lynn News on 23rd March
Article that appeared in the Hunstanton Newsletter in the April edition.
