The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre celebrated its 21st anniversary in style on Saturday 22 November, with a Birthday Ball at The Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells. The evening was sponsored by Create Balance Accountants, Tax & Business Partners and Lettology by Alexia. It was attended by 130 people – a mixture of visitors, volunteers, trustees and Pickering supporters.
The evening began with a welcome drink and canapes, while guests enjoyed listening to beautiful singing from Charlotte Vocalist. Later in the evening, ‘luxury trio’, The Sweethearts, took to the stage to accompany the dancing. Sound was provided by Fusion Events. All of this was to a backdrop of a stunning balloon arch, expertly created by visitor, Sammie.
The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre is entirely run by volunteers and, when he welcomed everyone to the Ball, Chair of Trustees, David Bartholomew, thanked all of them for giving up their time. He explained that, as it celebrated its 21st birthday, Pickering was about to receive ‘the key to the door’ of a new Centre, just a few doors down in Monson Road. Money raised from the Ball will go towards making the building as warm and welcoming as the current hub, while adding more therapy rooms and ensuring the new Centre is fully accessible.
Centre Manager, Caroline McGibney, talked about the support Pickering provides and said, so far this year, there had been 1,911 visits to the Centre and 1,021 therapy sessions provided (ranging from massage to ceramics). In total, she said, 86 newcomers had walked through the door at The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre in 2025.
Then followed a passionate talk by Mark Ryder, husband of visitor, Bryanna. He explained that, following his wife’s ‘life-changing’ cancer diagnosis, Pickering had become a ‘haven’ for them both.
The evening included a raffle – thanks to everyone, including many local businesses, who gave prizes and a silent auction, which included lots kindly donated by one of our visitors, as well as Fox & Fox Vineyard, Childrensalon and members of the Sugar Craft Guild. The flowers on the table – created by Fox In The Field Flowers – were also raffled afterwards.
A birthday has to include a cake and this was kindly crafted by Rusbridge Family Bakery in Southborough, who has been generously providing Pickering with a birthday cake for many years.
