We had a lovely time at our Christmas coffee morning, where our latest member, Lister, was a real star!  

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!  

Click here to find out more . . . .  

We had our usual stall at the Ickenham Christmas Festival, as well as a special art stall with Jackie's daughter, Rosie, who donated 20% of her takings.  Rosie will donate 20% of any orders that come through Friends of Ken, so do have a look at her website!   

We had a lovely fun evening at a Sing-along-a-Sax, organised by our very own Sue.  Much fun was had by all and, thanks to Sue's efforts, we raised £467.77

IN MEMORY OF MARY LIANG

              A TRIBUTE FROM KEN

              AND ALL AT THE FRIENDS OF KEN.

On the 16^th September 2024 Mary Liang sadly passed away after her battle with cancer.

Mary was a true supporter of Guide Dogs, and continued her support with The Friends of Ken with our nameing  puppies to hopefully become Guide Dogs to guide a  visually impaired person.

With Mary’s help we have named seven puppies and raised £36,000 towards this cause.

We thank Mary and send our condolences to her family and friends.

After Mary’s funeral a further £4,000 was donated to Michael Sobel House to continue their work in supporting those with cancer.

Rest in peace our dear Mary.

On 11 September 2024 Les Elliott sadly passed away after a short illness, just one month before his and Pam's tenth wedding anniversary.

Les was not only loved by Pam, but was very popular in all walks of his life.  He was president of W.O.S theatre Company, having also been their social secretary and chairman during his time with them. 

He was also captain of Brondesbury cricket club, only giving up at the age of 73.   

130 people attended his funeral, which says it all.  Our condolences are with pam and all  family and friends.

Rest in peace our good friend Les.

We had a lovely time at the Ickenham and Swakeleys Annual Show, where we were VIP guests.  Here are some pics of Ken doing splendid work (ably assisted by Jackie) giving out prizes.  We also raised £120 in our collection boxes! 

We have some FANTASTIC NEWS!   Our latest pup, Kenny, has qualified as a Guide Dog!!   Head over to Kenny's Page to find out more.  

We had another successful coffee morning raising funds for Guide Dogs.  It was lovely to welcome some guide dogs as well.  

Here is Ken with a version of himself, expertly knitted by Yvette.   

Huge thanks to Vicki for arranging a raffle event at the Barley Mow in Maidenhead.  As you'll see from Ken's letter below, it was a great success! 

 29th November 2021

Dear Supporters,

I am most impressed at the amount raised for Guide Dogs at the event held at the Barley Mow public house in Maidenhead, James and Vicki Sweeney, along with their seven month old delightful son Owen, ran a raffle at the pub, raising an amazing £1,140 for Guide Dogs.

Among the supporters were MP Teresa May, and Councillor Phil Haseler and Councillor Mc Williams giving their support.

They were also supported by two Guide Dog owners Levi and Kate and their Guide Dogs Hugo and Teal, Hugo is a yellow labrador and Teal is a black labrador retriever, all in all, a wonderful day was had by everyone.

The landlady Jenny of the Barley Mow said she would be only to pleased to support Guide Dogs by holding coffee mornings and requested that a Guide Dog pup may be named Barley, we at the Friends of Ken agreed to this request, and we will of course give them as much support as we can, to name a Guide Dog puppy we need to raise five thousand pounds, the funds raised today  means our group has raised thirty five thousand pounds plus since we started back in 2012.

So it is with thanks to James Vicki and Owen, the landlady and customers of the Barley Mow for your ongoing support towards our fundraising efforts for Guide Dogs Via the Bob and Betty Hutchinson Tribute Fund set up in 2012, by the late Betty Hutchinson, after her husband Bob passed away, they were so dedicated to the work of the association, and that is why we all support this cause to this very day.

I close with all best wishes and renewed thanks.

From Ken at the Friends of Ken.

We are very sorry to tell you that our stalwart supporter Jenny has passed away.  Born with congenital cataracts, Jenny did not let the fact that she lived in darkness deter her from leading life to the full - and being very generous with it. She met Ken when she came to his support group to talk about Pets as Therapy, a charity she supported by taking her dog to meet people in hospital.  Shortly after joining Friends of Ken, Jenny started working with her own guide dog, Toby.  She was devoted to Toby and he stayed close by her until the very end.  We will all miss Jenny's enthusiastic support.