Chris’s wife Sue was in on the secret and while they were both whisked away to the spa, the crew, friends and colleagues of Chris got working on the rooms of the house that were due to be made over.  The programme “You deserve this house” which will air in March is hosted by Amanda Lamb who was at Chris’s home to greet him when he returned with Sue and was able to let Chris in on the surprise.

Part of the point of the programme was to get some of the people who Chris has helped throughout his cancer journey to each work on decorating a room of his house and talk about why he is so deserving of this lovely treat.

Chris wrote this comment on his Facebook wall yesterday about the experience:  ”Apparently, my road was full of cars, vans and tv trucks for two days, and I was told that people were asking if we had won the lottery!! In a funny sort of way I have. This sort of exposure means that I can get my message out to a much wider audience and will help me with the projects I am involved with. Reality bites, treatment starts again tomorrow. My life is never boring!!!!!”

Chris has made a really touching video about his cancer story and his treatment at St George’s and it’s really worth a watch.  It’s here on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV82_QOMjU8

We think he’s amazing and are so happy he’s been the beneficiary of this special little thank you.

If you would like to support Chris by giving his fundraising a little boost, please visit his online sponsorship page.

One of the 5k participants and Head of Fundraising at St George’s Hospital Charity, Liz Woods said “The money we raised has gone towards a piece of artwork for one of the counselling rooms in the new unit. This is where patients receive their diagnosis; it’s important that the environment is conducive and we wanted to support something that will benefit women in particular, but not exclusively.”

The artwork was commissioned from Caroline de Lannoy.

Why not pick up your copy today? A hardback copy of the book is now available for £20 rather than £25 or £15 if you were one of the people who contributed. Copies are available from the Fundraising Office, St George’s Hospital or by emailing or calling Katy Worley, katy.worley@stgeorges.nhs.uk or 0208 725 4987

From ear bashings from militant matrons to yapping Pekinese dogs on the ward, the memories of nurses over the last 80 years are revealed in Nurses’ Voices. Funded by St George’s Hospital Charity, with all proceeds from the sale of the book going towards the charity, it is an oral history of the profession, based on 1,000 hours worth of recorded interviews with nurses who trained and worked at St George’s Hospital and St George’s, University of London.

Each chapter tackles a different aspect of life as a nurse, including training, uniforms, life on the wards, social life, disasters and epidemics, and changes to clinical practice.

Matron Deborah Hennessy, who was at the hospital between 1989 and 1991 said the book was a lovely memory. “It is a very special hospital. I have worked all over the world and everywhere I go I meet nurses who have qualified at St George’s. There is a huge pride in this hospital.”

They took on the Mens Health Survival of the Fittest challenge in November last year and came out muddy but smiling.  They were inspired by their friend and colleague, Mabel Ross-Magenty, who had an emergency operation on a critical brain tumour and was cared for by the wonderful staff on the ward.

In the words of Sarah Bixley who helped organise the fundraising on behalf of the whole team, since her treatment on Brodie Ward, Mabel has been “making a fantastic recovery and this was only possible with their generous/unrelenting support and critical after care, providing a much needed lifeline for her and her family during this difficult period, something they could not have managed without.”

The team, who had aimed to raise £1,000, managed to completely smash their target and collect £1,500, which was then matched by their employers, PricewaterhouseCoopers so that the total amount donated to St George’s Hospital Charity is £3,000, all for the benefit of Brodie Ward!

In the main photo of the team before their challenge above from left to right are:  Marion Kariuki-Ryan, Matthew Numeri, Khurrum Chohan, Jonathan Naftel, Caroline Gudgeon, Kunal Varu, Neil Walsh, Sarah Bixley, Sue Matkins, Varun Gill

Dear St George’s Hospital

We are writing to you to tell you we made £100 for your charity.  We made this money by Christmas Carolling around our houses, some people were generous giving us money and happy to see us, some others weren’t.  We went for two nights for hours in the cold weather and rain.  Me (Joanna Boxall) and Rachel really enjoyed singing to people for charity.  We raised money for your hospital because you saved my grandad’s life.  Ronald Stovell (my granddad) had three anyrisms on the aorta of the heart, two were at bursting point and the other one was still growing.  He had minutes to live.  I thank you so much for saving my grandad’s life, it wouldn’t be the same if my granddad wasn’t here.  Me, Rachel and my granddad are going to be in the Surrey Mirror this Thursday, the 4^th of January for raising money for your hospital!

Thank you so much, I will never forget you saving my Grandads life.

Your’s faithfully

Joanna Boxall and Rachel Jennings

This incredible amount was made up of donations taken over five days, and ten concerts in total and all funds will be shared between Paul’s Cancer Support Centre in Clapham and cancer services at St George’s Hospital, through St George’s Hospital Charity.

We would like to thank everyone who helped to make this possible, the fantastic patrons and staff of the Royal Albert Hall, our amazing volunteers and our lovely security and cashier staff for safely transporting and counting all of that money!

From ear bashings from militant matrons to yapping Pekinese dogs on the ward, the memories of nurses over the last 80 years are revealed in Nurses’ Voices.  Funded by St George’s Hospital Charity, with all proceeds from the sale of the book going towards the charity, it is an oral history of the profession, based on 1,000 hours worth of recorded interviews with nurses who trained and worked at St George’s Hospital and St George’s, University of London.

Each chapter tackles a different aspect of life as a nurse, including training, uniforms, life on the wards, social life, disasters and epidemics, and changes to clinical practice.

Author Carol McCubbin said “As well as all the stories, we’ve managed to build up an archive of uniforms, medals and other bits and pieces that people have given us.”

Amongst those remembered is a “very plump” Matron Hanks from the 1940s, who held court at her desk at the hospital accompanied by two Pekinese dogs. Her advice to one nurse was that she “must do everything for love, it must come from the heart”, and she conducted job interviews by asking applicants whether they liked rice pudding, what they thought of the British Empire, and whether they believed in the “life force”.

Daphne Foster, who nursed at the hospital between 1957 and 1994, said she was amazed by how much had changed. “You don’t have people having long convalescences in hospital now,” she said. “If you can lift your own toothbrush now you are home.”

She added that another big change had been to the old-style uniforms. “When I started, we wore striped uniform dresses which were quite heavy and warm in the wards and a tight belt over a cotton apron and starched caps which we had to make up ourselves. They had to look neat and tidy, but would not stay on when you were lifting a patient.” A 1930s nurse agreed: “Your dress had to be so many inches off the floor, so when you bent over a bed nothing showed.”

Matron Deborah Hennessy, who was at the hospital between 1989 and 1991 said the book was a lovely memory. “It is a very special hospital. I have worked all over the world and everywhere I go I meet nurses who have qualified at St Georges. There is a huge pride in this hospital.”

Why not pick up your copy today? A hardback copy of the book is now available for £20 rather than £25 or £15 if you were one of the people who contributed.  Copies are availabe from the Fundraising office, St George’s Hospital or by calling or emailing Katy Worley, katy.worley@stgeorges.nhs.uk 0208 725 4987

We have guaranteed places in the British 10k London Run in July this year and we’re also promoting some other fantastic challenge events for you to get involved in.  Take a look at our upcoming events page for more details.

The ballot for the Royal Parks Half Marathon, a hugely popular run which takes place in October, opens on Wednesday 18 January.  To register your interest in a place, click on the following link to the event website.

She recently came back to the hospital with her manager, Clare, to take a look at the car ‘in action’.  Whilst visiting our playroom she met with play specialist Deborah and one of our younger patients, Ange-Arielle.

Ramilla was here after her employer, Sainsbury’s, heard about her donation and the heart warming story behind it.  They wanted to come to the hospital to take a look for themselves and make a fuss over their not-so-un-sung hero!

Jenny did a fantastic job of picking out the lucky winners, who are:

Dinner for two with wines at Michelin starred restaurant, Chez Bruce – Mr C Prescott

Two tickets to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall – Dr Agrup

Apollo XC26 Mountain Bike – Dawn Lever

Framed poster of award-winning film Brokeback Mountain signed by cast and crew, including Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal – Giles Stimson

One year’s membership to the Southbank Centre – Andy Mallace

Two tickets to a performance of your choice at the Royal Albert Hall – Kate Allen

Box of Rococo chocolates – Amanda Kitchen

Bottle of Lanson Black Label Champagne – Kirk Jones

Abel & Cole fruit and vegetable box – James Amian