As Gill is on holiday this week, I thought that it would be fitting for me to write a guest post, having been at the charity for just over a month now as the new Marketing & Communications Manager. Great to meet you all!

Last weekend our Champagne Picnic and Grand Canal Challenge took place – both were exceptional events with weather to match.

Over 200 staff, supporters and patients came to join us at Harefield Hospital for the Champagne Picnic in aid of the Harefield Transplant Appeal, including a special visit from Hillingdon Deputy Mayor, David Yarrow. I would like to offer special thanks to Sophie Ford & Scrumptious Catering, who kindly supplied the food on the day.

When Sophie was four, she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and two years ago, had a double lung transplant at Harefield Hospital at the age of 28. She now runs a catering company and I’m sure everyone who attended would agree that the food was delicious – the perfect accompaniment to a glass of bubbly.

On Sunday was our flagship summer event – Grand Canal Challenge. Cyclists, runners and walkers joined us in our union between Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, travelling along the picturesque Grand Union Canal. The day was filled with much enthusiasm from our wonderful group of volunteers – never short of motivation for the participants. Afterwards, our Finishers’ Festival was a celebration not to be missed – there was beer, live music, a hog roast and face painting (I was very excited to get my face painted!).

I’d like to thank all the volunteers for their hard work in supporting both events – we couldn’t do it without you. Thank you also to all the participants for taking part and their fundraising efforts. We’ll be sharing the photographs in the next few days, but for the meantime, I leave you with a photo of me and my dog Frank who came to offer his congratulations to Sunday's participants.