So, we were delighted when Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh (the Duchess is our highly-regarded Royal Patron of course) wanted to invite a deserving nominee and their guest to represent us at His Majesty The King’s Garden Party at Holyrood House Palace in Edinburgh on Tuesday 2 July.
And there’s no more deserving couple than Colin and Margaret Wood, whose names were drawn out of the hat from our nominated Scottish-based supporters.
We were really pleased about this as they have done such a great job in raising valuable funds and awareness for us.
Dressed for the occasion
Margaret and Colin dressed for the occasion and enjoyed their day at the Palace. Margaret told us: “Colin and I had a lovely day at the garden party in Holyrood and managed to catch a glimpse of the King and Queen and the Duke and Duchess. This photograph was taken outside the Royal Pavilion just before the Royals arrived.
“We had a delicious afternoon tea and enjoyed the music played by the military band and the Highland pipers.
“Thank you so much for the invitation, we really appreciate it. And sorry we couldn’t get the King in the background of the photo for you!”
Family-run holiday parks
The Woods have spent 40 years building a family-run holiday park company that now includes five holiday parks across Scotland – Lomond Woods in Balloch, Loch Lomond; Blairgowrie and Corriefodly parks in Perthshire, Callander Woods in Stirlingshire; and Deeside Holiday Park in Aberdeenshire. Find out more at https://www.woodleisure.co.uk
But back in 2019 the family suffered a setback when Colin contracted pneumococcal meningitis.
Colin’s daughter Sarah told us: “As a very close family, this came as a huge shock to us seeing him so ill and we were devastated. It was a very scary time for the family.
“The doctors prepared us for the worst and even when he started to show signs of improvement they prepared us for all the serious after-effects that can result from meningitis.”
Good recovery
It took time but fortunately Colin went on to make a good recovery and has since celebrated his 70th birthday.
After their meningitis experience the family decided to fundraise for Meningitis Now, naming us as their Charity of the Year. Their efforts raised some £10,000 towards our vital work.
This was through collection tins, raffles, virtual running events and the business put in some matched funding too. They also kindly offered raffle prizes for other families in Scotland who were fundraising for us.
Another initiative the generous family set up was to offer breaks to people and families who had been affected by meningitis, as one of their ways of helping others.
And our signs and symptoms awareness cards were also on prominent display in all their parks.
Our chief executive, Tom Nutt added: “We are always so grateful when we hear how hard our supporters work to raise funds and awareness for us, and how committed they are to our cause to beat meningitis in the UK within a generation. We really appreciate all their efforts – thank you Colin and family and we’re glad you and Margaret enjoyed your day out at the Palace.”
