Eleanor and George raised £450 for Help for Heroes in Norfolk taking part in the 2009 Superhero Challenge which seemed a fitting tribute as it was Armed Forces Day that day too.
He believes that as a result of the generosity of the sponsors the event raised c£5000 for the Quidenham Childrens Hospice.
George said:
"The Norfolk Superhero challenge is a great event which celebrates Norfolk's Nelson heritage and great outdoors in a spirit of adventure: a great antidote to excessive modern health and safety.
"Being Armed Forces day we wanted to do our bit to support Help for Heroes who do such great work looking after our brave service personnel who have given so much for us all."
- Started 3 years ago by Mark Lapping and Simon Wilson Stephens. The event begun with 13 teams in 2007 and now has grown to a 40 teams (80 people)
- Organised by Sarah Green and Jessica Lapping
- Small, local and very personal event with fantastic atmosphere and genuine true amateur spirit.
- Based at Burnham Overy Staithe, Norfolk. The event takes participants through the creeks at Overy, around some of North Norfolk's most beautiful scenery and along Holkham's spectacular beach.
- Event consists of: 1 mile swim up the creek from Gun Hill, 4 mile kayak through Overy and Norton creeks, 40 mile bike ride and a 8 mile run along to Holkham and back to Burnham Overy Staithe via the beach with the final mile across the muddy marshes.
Prizes:
- the Lord Nelson Trophy for the fastest male team,
- the Dame Edna Shield for the fastest mixed team and
- the Lady Hamilton Cup for the fastest all female team.
We also have 2 new trophies this year:
- the Local Norfolk Heroes Trophy donated and created by Big Blue Sky, Wells for the fastest Local team, and
- the Centenarian Cup donated by Rosalind English for the fastest team with a combined age over 100!
There were 3 teams this year with a combined age of over 100.
The event does not force competitors to raise money but the organisers try and make some money through the event and this year chose to donate any surplus to EACH- figures not yet finalised but hopefully near £5000
We had a lot of support from local businesses who offered equipment or prizes to help cover costs of the event.
These include:
- Fat Birds Don't Fly in Hunstanton
- Big Blue Sky, Wells
- Paragon Print and PAkaging and Paragon Flexibles
- Lyngs Country Goods, Great Massingham
- Elgoods Brewery, Norwich City
- Tesco, Fakenham
- Adnams Wine, Holkham
- The Hoste Arms, Burnham Market
- The Dabbling Duck, Great Massingham
- Barsbys Produce
- Preva Produce
- The Crown, Rudham
- Mr and Mrs Edwards
- Hallgarten Wine
- Annas of Burnham Market
- Gun Hill, Holt and Burnham Market
- Ketts Country Cottages, Fakenham
- Edward Parker Wines
- Country Fairs Office
The event would not be possible without the huge support of many people locally both on land and sea who help to marshal the event including the Wensum Canoe Club who were a new addition this year and invaluable with safety in the swim.
Photo: George and his wife Eleanor go the extra mile to support Help for Heroes
"I was delighted that we were able to get Nick Herbert MP to come to meet local farmers in the summit to promote the importance of Agricultural Research and Development to UK plc as well as to our local economy. If we are going to play our part in meeting the global population and sustainability challenge, and rebalamcing our economy away fromover-dependence on the City, we will need to be investing more in our core science and agricultural R+D" said George.
George Freeman, founder of 4D Biomedical, and Nigel Brown, chairman of the Greater Cambridge Partnership, are looking at how to raise the funds.
The pair believe it would provide a boost to the economy of Norwich and the ports of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
Mr Freeman said they want to see if it is feasible to bring together private and public funds to build the line.
'Unlock potential'
"East Anglia has woeful road, rail and broadband links," Mr Freeman said.
"We will never unlock the potential of this region unless we can get around."
He said a Cambridge business investor told him that he was not interested in companies in Norwich because ""they are too difficult to get to".
"Investing in a modern rail, road and broadband infrastructure will allow us to accelerate innovation, spread prosperity, and reduce congestion," he said.
New rail franchise
Mr Brown, who used to work for Cambridge-based investment bank N. W. Brown, said: "You only have to look at the effect which the Victorians had on the districts in which they built their new railway lines.
"Houses, commerce and wealth will always follow. Many new houses are being planned for this region but no one has thought about the communications.
"Many of the trains in the region take longer than they did in the 19th Century."
One option they are looking at is to start a new regional building society, with the power to raise its own new bonds, offering higher yields to investors than government bonds.
Approaching the existing rail operators will be the next stage.
Mr Freeman said if the project were to work it would need the Government to grant a 20 year franchise to run the operating companies and Railtrack businesses.
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The sell-out summit was organised by George Freeman, and sponsored and hosted by the award winning Hunters Hall conference centre at Castle Farm, Swanton Morley.
George Freeman, founder of the Norfolk Way campaign, said: "Our small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Whilst irresponsible regulators and bankers in London are bailed out with billions of pounds of our money, local businesses are being hit by collapsing consumer spending and a refusal by banks to lend. Norfolk's rural businesses are hit especially hard.
"Over recent years our leaders in London have forgotten that finance is just the oil of the real economy engine. We need to get back to a more balanced and sustainable economy in which finance is the servant of real business.
Mark Prisk MP, Shadow Minister of State for Small Business, said: "Government needs to recognise the difference between the Banking crisis, and the Real Economy crisis it is now causing. Well run businesses are now being crippled by the regulatory failures which have allowed greed, cheap credit and speculative financial engineering to get out of control. We supported the Government in its urgent action to prevent banking collapse, but we believe too little attention is now being spent on preventing a crisis in the real economy - which the banks ultimately rely on."
Photo:Wilfred Emanuel Jones
The team at World Horse Welfare provide a wonderful service to us all: rescuing and rehabilitating horses who have been neglected, abandoned or abused. It is a world class facility, doing great work, which deserves our support. Whilst the cruelty involved in some of the cases of neglect the team deal with is shocking, their success in rehabilitating these beautiful creatures with immaculate care is quite inspiring.
World Horse Welfare is another example of the many charitable and commercial centres excellence tucked away in rural Mid Norfolk which we need to do more to celebrate.
After touring the stables and meeting staff, George met with Chief Executive, Roly Owers and the campaigns and administration team to discuss ways of supporting WHW's work.
To help raise the profile of the Centre and its visitor and conference facilities, George has organised to bring the next Mid Norfolk Enterprise Forum to the WHW venue on April 22nd.
I am delighted that we will be holding the next Mid Norfolk Enterprise Forum here at the World Horse Welfare conference centre. It is a great facility, with a number of regular events and public open days, which deserves more local publicity and profile"".
The Next Mid Norfolk Enterprise Forum will be on Wednesday 22nd April 2009 at 6.00pm pm, at World Horse Welfare Conference Centre, Snetterton. Guest speaker: Wilfred Emmanuel Jones, better known as founder of multiple award winning 'The Black Farmer' range of foods, a passionate advocate of a vibrant rural economy, with a great message in support of The Norfolk Way's campaign for rural enterprise.
Please contact us if you would like to attend.
Photo:George visiting the World Horse Welfare centre at Snettisham
The sell-out summit was organised by George Freeman, Founder of The Norfolk Way campaign and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the new Mid Norfolk Constituency at the next election. The meeting was attended by Shadow Minister of State for Small Business, Mark Prisk MP who spoke on: What should Government do for small businesses? The meeting was sponsored and hosted by the award winning Hunters Hall conference centre at Castle Farm, Swanton Morley.
George Freeman, founder of the Norfolk Way campaign, said: "Our small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Whilst irresponsible regulators and bankers in London are bailed out with billions of pounds of our money, local businesses are being hit by collapsing consumer spending and a refusal by banks to lend. Norfolk's rural businesses are hit especially hard.
Over recent years our leaders in London have forgotten that finance is just the oil of the real economy engine. We need to get back to a more balanced and sustainable economy in which finance is the servant of real business.
Mark Prisk MP, Shadow Minister of State for Small Business, said: "Government needs to recognise the difference between the Banking crisis, and the Real Economy crisis it is now causing. Well run businesses are now being crippled by the regulatory failures which have allowed greed, cheap credit and speculative financial engineering to get out of control. We supported the Government in its urgent action to prevent banking collapse, but we believe too little attention is now being spent on preventing a crisis in the real economy - which the banks ultimately rely on."
Neil Shillito, of Norwich based SG Wealth Management Ltd, said: "Of course the banking system must be supported but Government throwing a wall of money will not solve the problem. Small businesses are only struggling because they need credit to aid cash flow. The numbers involved in underwriting loans would be infinitesimally small compared to the billions being talked about at Westminster, but the effect would be dramatic in terms of preserving and creating jobs and supporting the GDP of the country as a whole."
Mr. Prisk went on to outline a number of key policies that the Conservatives are urging the Government to adopt to help small businesses, including:
- Abolishing income tax on savings for basic rate taxpayers and raise the pensioners' personal allowance by £2,000 to £11,490.
- Getting credit flowing and save jobs with a £50 billion National Loan Guarantee Scheme.
- Helping cashflow by delaying VAT bills for six months.
- Freezing council tax for two years by cutting wasteful Government spending.
- Getting companies hiring again through reducing employment costs for small businesses by cutting National Insurance, and through a tax break for new jobs.
- Over the long term we will get the public finances back under control with an Office for Budget Responsibility so no Labour Government can ever bankrupt this country again.
For more details please see below or contact George Freeman on 07855 252 999.
As people across our area face difficult times this winter and New Year, with all of us having to make serious economies in the face of the recession, why isnt the Government doing more to cut back its waste and unnecessary spending to target those who need help most ? Whilst families, small businesses, local councils and voluntary groups have to make economies, Central Government is still wasting millions on unnecessary initiatives like the reorganisation of Norfolk's councils which is estimated to cost between £25m and £100m. Whilst millions of ordinary savers face a black hole in their pensions as a result of Gordon Brown's stealth taxes and economic mismanagement, millions of civil servants in Whitehall and Labour's regional quangoes enjoy protected risk-free jobs on huge salaries and final salary schemes. That is not fair and it isn't sustainable. Government doesnt generate money, it spends it. It is vital that we do more to prioritise and support the wealth creating sectors of our economy which fund our public services.
Photo:George interviewed on BBC Politics Show East
