Mad Hatter themed party in Oxhill raises money for Gambian charity

Shirley Cherry organised a Mad Hatter themed afternoon tea featuring scones, jam, cream, sandwiches and cakes, in the village chapel.

A total of 94 teas were served across two sittings and people came dressed up as characters from Alice in Wonderland, including the Mad Hatter and Alice herself.

The event raised £1,437 for the African Oyster Trust, a charity that runs four nursery schools and two medical clinics, including the second biggest hospital, in The Gambia.

The trust plans to replace the termite-eaten roof of the Jappineh Health Centre with some of the money.

Mrs Cherry said: “Thanks to all the cake bakers, musicians, our fabulous face painter, our young Wonderland waiting staff, kitchen caterers and tea-cup washers-up, White Hyacinth Cake Design for the fabulous Mad Hatter Cake, Cotswold Marquees for loaning the tables, Rev Jill Tucker for the use of The Chapel, Clearway Promotions for sponsoring the print and everyone who helped to make the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party such a success.

“It was all rather wonderful and a great example of how a local community can pull together to support a good cause, albeit in a distant, faraway land like The Gambia.

“Particular thanks go to St Mary’s Church in Tysoe for its very generous £250 donation, offered as match funding.”

She added she planned to invite charity director, Lady Kira Dalton, to give a talk in Tysoe about the charity’s latest projects when Lady Dalton returns to the UK during the Gambian rainy season.

Anyone wanting to know more about the African Oyster Trust or make a donation, can visit www.africanoystertrust.co.uk.

The trust is dedicated to the relief of poverty and sickness in the former British colonies of Africa. The charity was founded by a small team of volunteers based in Warwickshire and the west Midlands.