2010 Reunion
A MESSAGE FROM SANDIE
A huge thank you to everyone who made the 2010 Reunion a fantastic event yet again.
Terry and Belinda did a sterling job at organsing and making the whole thing happen and the new format proved to be a great success. Thanks to you both for your enormous effort. They were of course helped by Pauline and Lynne whose other halves, Steve and Ian, again deserve a special mention for all their hard work setting up the rings, tents etc., and generally getting the field ready beforehand and clearing up afterwards. Thanks to Di for taking the photos on the day and maintaining our website. Thankfully, the weather was with us yet again. Shannon was obviously looking down on us.
There were far too many helpers on the day for me to remember I’m afraid and I’m bound to miss someone out if I try. Thanks to you all, you know who you are.
Thanks to our all our judges not least of all Tina and Nick. You all had very hard decisions to make indeed.
Jackie and Ron were missed this year – no excuses will be accepted next year, you MUST attend, it just wasn’t the same without you.
This year has not been a good year for IRR, it’s been tinged with sadness and ill health but despite that, never has a dog needing our help been neglected. This is mainly due to the fantastic team of fosterers, transporters and helpers we have and on that note I would like to say a special thanks Andy, Simon, Malcolm (Midlands) and Lynne ( Bristol) for getting up in the middle of the night to meet the transport. Sometimes they get a phone call at 2a.m. telling them that the venue or time has been changed, which is not funny, but they just get on with it.
Although they had nothing to do with the Reunion, I would like to thank a few people in Ireland who helped IRR dogs during my illness, Gill, Martina, Eila and Toni you are true gems and we all thank you so much for your help.
Thanks to everyone who dug deep into their pockets to help our forever foster dogs, especially Bonnie, Holly and Maximillian – without you their treatment would not have been possible.
A few fundraising events have taken place during the year, Rally in the Valley was organised by Jane White and Chrissie Heath is a wiz at car boot sales. Thank you both so much for the time and effort you put into these events.
Lorraine , Pauline and Jackie are the backbone of IRR and it wouldn’t exist but for their effort and the time they dedicate to our cause. They always know we’re in trouble when they get a phone call from me on their mobiles, but always come back in a short time with a solution. Thanks for everything you’ve done over the years, it just isn’t going to be the same without you Pauline.
Lastly, thank you to everyone who gave one of our dogs a loving forever home.
I look forward to seeing you all again next year.
REUNION 2010 REPORT (from PAULINE)
Since our 2009 Reunion, it has not been the best time for Irish Retriever Rescue with both Sandie and Jan fighting serious illnesses and Lorraine having the agony of watching her Mum struggle with terminal illness before finally losing her battle days before our event.
The job of organising the Reunion, together with a small band of loyal local helpers, normally falls to me but, in March 2010, I also succumbed to illness so it was Belinda, ably assisted by Terry, who took over the whole job from me. This was on top of helping relieve me of several other of my IRR jobs and as well as still continuing with their fostering, merchandising and Sponsor Dog organising jobs.
Because of all these difficulties, we decided to postpone our annual Photographic Competition until the Autumn and to downsize the 2010 Reunion Show to make it more manageable.
Without all the hard work put in by Terry and Belinda, our show simply would have been impossible to run this year so we all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
The Reunion was held on Saturday 18 September, once again at Bury View Farm & Camping Site, Corston Fields, Nr Bath BA2 9HD. As always Sallie & Jim Bowden welcomed us all warmly and made our stay on their campsite as pleasant as possible.
We noticed that more people seemed to take the opportunity to camp or have B&B in the area his year which gave more time to properly catch up with old friends and meet in person people who have become friends through the wonders of the Internet.
Once again, the weather was extremely kind to us, the sun shone brightly in the morning and it remained dry all day, if a bit windy in the afternoon. As always, it was wonderful to see so many happy, healthy dogs especially when we remembered how needy many had been when they first came into our care.
This year I was hoping for a relaxed Reunion day, with plenty of time to chat, but, despite having a wonderful band of helpers keeping me going, there were still 101 jobs as usual, I went into totally focussed Sergeant Major mode. I can only say many apologies to anyone that I appeared to ignore or was unable to speak to on the day.