On Monday, December 4th, Mariners Away were delighted to present the Royal Devon Hospitals Charity with a cheque for £2500. This amount will be shared among various RD&E wards and the hospital’s own children’s charity.

The majority of this impressive sum was raised through proceeds from an unforgettable charity concert held at Exeter Corn Exchange in October. The event featured a ‘Cream of Devon’ collaboration between Mariners Away, prog folk trio Windjammer, folk singer/songwriter Jim Causley, magical harpist Elizabeth-Jane Baldry and Devon-born funny man and compere Jonno.

Additional funds were generated through souvenir programme sales, a lottery and a bucket collection on the night. The total was rounded up to £2500, thanks to generous private donations.

Following the cheque presentation on Monday at the RD&E reception, Mariners Away toured several wards for over an hour, singing a collection of popular sea shanties. This seemed to uplift the spirits of both patients and staff wherever we sang.

Numerous hospital staff captured videos during the ward sing-around and we would be delighted to post them (with appropriate credit) on our dedicated YouTube channel and Facebook page. Please send any videos or images to marinersaway@btinternet.com

A heartfelt thank you to EVERYONE who contributed to the success of the RD&E fundraising project. It took many months of planning combined with the selfless assistance of so many individuals (too many to name here), but the financial result and the smiles we brought to so many patients’ faces as we toured the wards on Monday made it all the more worthwhile.