Building Work Update
Head Office Building renovation is progressing – all of the administrators are now safely ensconced in their new office and the conversion of the chapels, mortuary and entrance reception has started. We are on track for completion in December 2008 and look forward to a service of dedication of the new chapels in the late spring time on 2009.
It's a Girl!
David Walker is blessed with another grandchild – this time a girl! David’s elder daughter Sian and son-in-law Alan have announced the birth of Molly Naomi.
Bereavement Forum 2008
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A. B. Walker & Son held its second forum at the Leander Club in Henley and this year our speaker was Claire Rayner OBE who spoke entertainingly, and openly, about her experiences as a nurse and an agony aunt and her survival against cancer.
Over 70 specially invited guests attended and the evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all. 13 Leander Club athletes won medals at this year’s Olympics for rowing which made the venue even more spectacular.
Latvian Students
As a treat for some Latvian students on an exchange with girls from the Abbey School, Reading, they were collected from the airport in three of our new limousine fleet.
New Fleet
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We have now taken ownership of our new Jaguar fleet and this, in conjunction with retaining one of our Mercedes hearses and two of our Mercedes limousines, increases our fleet to an impressive 3 hearses and 6 limousines. This enables us to further meet the expectations of our clients throughout the area.
Investors in People Business Planning
All members of staff were engaged at an afternoon workshop to develop their product and service knowledge as well as consider areas of our service to improve. It was held at the Madejski Stadium in August and the ideas thrown up by staff members are to be incorporated into our strategic planning process
Wokingham Green Fingers Competition
This is a gardening and floral display competition for the Wokingham area. This year we are sponsors, judges and awarding the best floral display by a commercial premises. Entry forms for both sections can be obtained from the following link.
http://www.wokingham-tc.gov.uk/
Duchess of Kent House Runners
In July A. B. Walker sponsored the running shirts and transport to London of seven runners for the British 10km. Amongst the exhausted runners was Julian, his wife Nicky and local Twyford GP Carol James. Well done to all those who took part!
Wedding
We have had two causes for celebration recently. In July Paul, one of our Funeral
Operatives, married Giustina and spent their honeymoon in Turkey, and in August Pam married Giancarlo and enjoyed their honeymoon cruising around the Mediterranean. Coincidentally Giancarlo is the uncle of Giustina so a double celebration for their family!
Boat Event
We held our annual staff event on the ‘New Orleans’ in August with the vessel taking us on a leisurely trip along the River Thames. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening which was rounded off by a spot of dancing. Our thanks to Hobbs of Henley.
Henley and Reading Gala Bowls Championships.
ABW again sponsored two bowls competitions locally and it was good to see that one of the home sides won their final with Henley beating Shiplake during the final end.
Peppard Revels
To celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth, Peppard Revels held a weekend celebration on Peppard Common. Attended by over 400 people, A. B. Walker supported the James Bond themed ball which ended with a magnificent fireworks display and raised nearly £4,000 - the bulk of which went to support the War Memorial Hall and the remainder to the Friends of Peppard School and the British Heart Foundation.
Peppard Revels 2008
Every few years the Village of Rotherfield Peppard near Henley, holds a weekend celebration on Peppard Common which on the Saturday includes a family day, an evening event and a multi-denominational church service followed by lunch on the Sunday. In the past, themes have been The Millennium, The Queens Golden Jubilee and the Bicentenary of Trafalgar. This year we are supporting the evening extravaganza celebrating the centenary of the birth of local author Ian Fleming (the Fleming family were resident in Joyce Grove, now Sue Ryder Care in Nettlebed). The evening we are sponsoring is a James Bond Ball – tickets and information are available from http://www.peppardrevels.org.uk/
Royals Tournament
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Hoping for better luck than last year we entered a highly trained team into the 2008 football tournament, played at the Madejski Stadium in May. Yet again we were unsuccessful in winning but we all know that it’s the taking part that counts!
Walker Charitable Trust Formed
We have decided to create a charitable trust. This will become our vehicle for directly helping local charitable causes. We are going to invest in the trust without drawing from it for another four years to allow an appropriate sum to accumulate and in turn earn a significant enough amount for distribution. We hope to include the next generation of the Walker family (the eldest is still only 9!) as well as members of staff and retired members of the family in the management and distribution of the funds.
Our thanks to Mark Evans and his team at Coutts for their advice.
http://www.coutts.com/philanthropy.asp
Last Year in Black For David
May 2009 will see David Walkers retirement!