Volunteers and staff from Hospiscare have eaten their way into the record books after 403 people sat down to a cream tea in the Great Hall at the University of Exeter, beating the previous Guinness World Record of 334.
The charity, which provides end-of-life care for local patients and their families, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with a series of special events and the tea party, which was generously hosted by the University, was the idea of Paula Lawford and Jessica Macan, of Exeter Friends of Hospiscare, and took six months of planning.
The New Ottregians, a theatre company based in Ottery St Mary, have presented a cheque for £5,300 to Hospiscare, which provides end-of-life care for local patients and their families, following their incredibly successful production of Me and My Girl at the King’s School, in July.
Helena and Toni Williams-Pugh, who run the theatre company, made the presentation to Margery Whittington, from the local Hospiscare volunteer group, and Nick Agg-Manning, a trustee of the charity, which provides end-of-life care for local patients and their families.
The issue of women, or the lack of them, occupying top spots in UK business has been in the spotlight this week. On Monday the Financial Times reported that it had seen draft EU legislation proposing to force Europe’s listed companies to reserve 40% of non-executive director positions for women or face fines or other sanctions. On Tuesday the Evening Standard sponsored a debate on the issue headed by a panel of successful professional women, including Cherie Booth QC, and Helena Morrissey, the chief executive of the global investment company, Newton Investment.
