Co Londonderry charity success

On October 18, over 100 people attended the County Londonderry Big Night Out, which was sponsored by Northern Counties Co-Operative Enterprises from Swatragh Mart, and held in support of two charities, Charis Cancer Care and The Olive Branch.

Charis is a Charity that provides alternative therapy and counselling for cancer sufferers and their families, while The Olive Branch is quite a new charity which offers immediate access to a mental health counselling service for those suffering from mental health issues. Charis operate from Lough Fea Road, Cookstown, while The Olive Branch operate from Rainey Street in Magherafelt. There was an amazing total sum raised of £2,574 (£1,287 each). The County chairman George Bolton presented cheques to the charities.

The Group also had great success again this year in the NI wide Cereal Competition, with Hessin Bros winning first place in the Spring Barley, with a fantastic field of barley produced that had caught the eye of the Northern Ireland judges. This showcases the quality of product produced locally and also the hard work and attention to detail put in by local growers.

The season kicked off with a well attended and interesting presentation on a very hot topic of Nitrates Issues and planning, taken by Aileen Lawson of the UFU and Les Ross of Ross Planning. On November 12, the President Ivor Ferguson came to speak to the Group on Brexit issues, and this meeting was very well supported, demonstrating that everyone hasn’t quite had enough of Brexit yet! The next meeting is a group visit to McKee’s Pies in Maghera on December 10 - please confirm attendance to the office.

There is also a Christmas meeting with a meal in connection with the County Committee on November 28 in The Lodge Hotel, speaker Richard Wright, please confirm attendance to the Group Office.

If you are not currently a member of the Group, why not get involved and contact the Group office on 02879632127.