Birthday proves a wonderful thing

So when you live in Pooh House, it’s only natural that you should want to mark the occasion, and that is precisely what Paul and Mary Reed did.

The couple combined celebrations for Pooh’s birthday with the 25th anniversary of moving into the house at Fittleworth, but didn’t keep the fun to themselves.

In fact they invited Pooh fans into their garden for a series of open days in aid of Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice at Poling, and raised more than £2,000.

The events concluded with an Autumn Colours weekend, when Chestnut Tree House trustee Mike Ryman and his wife Frances paid their own visit to make a grand prize draw to end the campaign on a high note.

It started in the spring with an open day in May at the end of the National Children’s Hospice Awareness Week and then with the encouragement of the public and a team of helpers grew to become a sustained campaign to include the school holidays.

Special days included Owl Sunday, Piglet Sunday, Eeyore Sunday, Rabbit Sunday and Tigger Sunday every summer holiday weekend.

Said Paul: “As the site is on a disused quarry, it has been turned into imaginative trails and planting over the years to give a challenging eight gardens in one, which have at last come into their own, in a fabulous natural setting for others to enjoy.”

Janet Parsons, head of communications for Chestnut Tree House, thanked the Reeds for their “creative” fund-raising.