Another tribute our beautiful young guy who was loved by everybody and will be forgotten by nobody ♥♥♥

Every time I start to write one of these updates I think what on earth am I going to say this month?  Every time I finish it I think wow, there was so much to say this month!  May is just the same and I’ll start with a quick catch up on fund raising activities because the amount of money we have raised has now reached nearly £75,000!

Colleagues at my work have continued to run homemade cake sales every so often – as with everything in the Huw Thatcher Trust, it was initiated by people who care.  I didn’t do anything to suggest this or make it happen but there have now been 5 of these events, each raising £120 so that’s a tremendous total of £600 from my workplace.  Thank you to every person who bought a cake, but more so to those who spent the time and money making them.  I’ve welcomed the link between my family and my work – Huw didn’t know much about my workplace or work colleagues but it has been nice to see Huw’s picture on a leaflet and to feel him around me at work.

Also I want to say thank you to Upperthong and Wooldale Junior Schools along with Upperthong Brownies for their fund raising efforts – again initiated by them.  Some of the Pupils and Brownies have elder brothers or sisters who were friends of Huw and I’ll say more about what they’ve been doing next time.  And last month we were also given donations from Sam Hough and Jake Barrowclough (and his friends) who had been doing fund raising on their own initiative in schemes connected to their schools.  Sam’s and Jake’s elder sisters (Georgie and Katie) were friendly with Huw and it means a lot that younger brothers and sisters of Huw’s friends have been involved with various things recently.  It again reminds me of how much people in Holmfirth (as well as those in other parts of the country) thought of Huw and continue to be touched by what happened.

We’ve also been getting ready for some of the summer events, including raffles.  We ‘ve been fortunate enough to get 3 signed football shirts this time:

• A Ryan Giggs shirt (pictured above) – personalised with ‘Remembering Huw Thatcher’ on one of the numbers.  Thank you to Erin from BIRT, her sister Catlin, and Man United player Will Keane for getting this for us – particularly Erin who has been so generous and helpful with this;
• A signed Fabrice Mwamba shirt which means a lot bearing in mind what happened to this player just over a year ago.  Thank you to Phil Mason for this one; and
• Finally a Gary Cahill signed shirt courtesy of his mother in law who works at my workplace – so many thanks to her!

All of the above activities are helping to do so much good – to support those with brain injuries acquired through armed conflict, illness, accidents or whatever.

And there have been a number of poignant moments recently (as there always are) which include watching Huw’s Hepworth United team mates play their last game as a group – it was good to see them all and I wanted to think about the past when I was stood on the sidelines 2 weeks ago.  The game was at the playing fields known locally as ‘Little Wembley’ (pictured here) which the lads have rarely used recently – it seemed appropriate to play there for the last game and look over at the beautiful surroundings where Huw played 11 a side football for 5 years for club and school.  It was a special place for Huw, and I have so many memories of that little corner of Holmfirth that it will always be a special area to me.

And last week also saw the last day at school for Carys and her school year – Carys moving on to do things that Huw never did makes me feel both proud and regretful.  Another thing that makes me feel like that is the recent achievements of Cardiff City – and I must mention a perfect day in the sunshine that Carys and I spent in Hull watching Cardiff do themselves proud in the most dramatic of circumstances.  The game featured the promotion of Hull City, but not before a packed stadium and a full Cardiff end (in fancy dress!) saw a 2-2 draw, a sending off, 2 pitch invasions, a missed penalty and a scored penalty.

We also saw the full range of emotions for the Hull fans who needed at least a draw to secure promotion – so it was quite a day.  It was a day which Huw would have loved at least as much as Carys and I did and he was there in our thoughts and hearts throughout every minute of the day.

Finally, I want to show you this picture of our local MP with Huw’s friends last week. These 5 fantastic friends of Huw were great company at the Huddersfield Examiner Community Awards last Thursday and were presented with the prestigious ‘friends’ award at ceremony held at the Huddersfield Town football stadium.

They were proud to receive the award on behalf of all the friends and family of Huw who have made so much physical and emotional investment – in remembering our beautiful boy and to help people who have had brain injuries.

It was a tribute to Huw’s friends and family who have put their efforts into a positive cause.  I was going to say they have gone beyond the call of duty to support Huw and the Trust – but I realise that would be inappropriate because I know it’s not a ‘duty’ for them or a chore – it’s something they have done naturally and would not want to do any different.  It is something that comes from the heart for all of us who have been involved in the Huw Trust.  As I walked up to the stage behind Huw’s 5 friends in front of hundreds of people at this event, emotions pricked at my eyes and shivered down my spine.  People in the audience cheered – the applause was for Huw and his friends.  Along with his cousins, his friends were always a central part of his life and he adored this group.  So it was another moving tribute to the legacy of our beautiful young guy who was loved by everybody and will be forgotten by nobody ♥♥♥

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