THIRTY years of fund-raising in a Quantock Hills village which has brought in more than £350,000 for a cancer charity has been celebrated with a dinner in The Carew Arms public house, Crowcombe.

Coleridge Macmillan Cancer Support Committee chairman Maggie Pumphrey said: “Not many fund-raising committees last this long and it was good to celebrate and to look back and reminisce, but also we are looking forward to continuing, too.”

Dinner guests were given a history of the Bicknoller committee by Mrs Pumphrey, who joined when she and her late husband Bill moved to the village in 1989

At that time, it was known as the The Quantock Committee, made up of members from both sides of the hills and had been in existence for about 15 years.

Mrs Pumphrey said: “My neighbour persuaded me to join as chairman because the current one was moving out of the area.”

The main fund-raising originally was street collections, house to house collections, and an annual lunch at a large house in the area.

Then, the first garden fete was held in 1990, but there was little support from other committee members, apart from Julia Coleridge and Mouse Desaumarez, which eventually led to resignations and the committee folding four years later.

Ms Coleridge, who lived at Whites Meadow, Bicknoller, wanted Mrs Pumphrey to start another committee but she was reluctant.

When Julia died suddenly aged 82 while attending a friend’s funeral, Mrs Pumphrey felt a sense of guilt and formed a committee in her name with six like-minded members.

Mrs Pumphrey said: “Membership grew and included people from Roadwater, Williton, Watchet, Crowcombe, but mainly Bicknoller.”

Many of today’s committee have been members for 15 years or longer and the annual garden fete has become the main fund-raising activity, while other events have included an open farm/hog roast, murder mystery plays with supper, Westcountry evenings with The Stoggymen and pasties/cider, Christmas concerts with a Christmas fayre, fabric sales, a silent auction, and supermarket collections, while for several years the charity has covered reception duties at Bishops Lydeard Mill.

Mrs Pumphrey said: “I think we should be proud of our achievement.

“Not only have we raised £350,405 over the 30 years for the charity, but we have provided events that have given people a great deal of pleasure and happy memories and we have established firm friendships that have provided support when needed over the years.

“Of course, we could not have achieved so much without the help and support of many other people and it is a pity that we could not have included them in the celebration, there are too many. We appreciate and thank them.

“So, I hope we will take this opportunity to look to the future, to continue as a great team to raise much-needed funds for a great charity, to provide events that are attractive to people so that they feel good in supporting us, and to value the friendships we have found within the committee.”