Penelope Keith Presents Holiday Prize To ‘Make Your Mark’ Winners

Published on: 12 Sep, 2014
Updated on: 16 Sep, 2014

Left to right: Gemma Antrobus from Haslemere travel, Dame Penelope Keith presenting prize to Vicky and Sam Barlow, Right Reverend Ian Brackley the Bishop of Dorking and Dean Dianna Gwilliams.

By Victoria Lazarevic

Dame Penelope Keith presented a Guildford couple with a prize of an Italian holiday yesterday (September 11) at Guildford Cathedral. The prize was won in a fund raising auction.

Vicky and Sam Barlow were the highest bidders in an auction held in the summer as part of the cathedral’s Make Your Mark Appeal to raise £7 million for urgent repairs and improvements. Mystery followed delight when the Barlow’s bid was doubled by an anonymous donor.

Receiving their prize from Dame Penelope, vice president of the appeal, Sam Barlow replied: “We are all winners – in helping to raise money for the cathedral we have won a wonderful holiday.” The money from the Barlows and the mystery donor went directly to the Guildford Cathedral Appeal.

After the presentation it emerged that, as children, both Dame Penelope and Vicky Barlow were brick buyers in a campaign to raise funds for the cathedral, still under construction in the austere post-war period.

Individuals were able to buy bricks, made at a nearby brickyard from clay found at the base of Stag Hill, on which the cathedral sits. The bricks were then used by the cathedral builders.

“I bought my brick for half a crown,” said Dame Penelope. She and Mrs Barlow remain active in supporting the Cathedral with its present fundraising efforts.

Vicky Barlow’s auction bid is just one of the ways she has been making her own mark with cathedral fundraising  ever since.

A Friend of Guildford Cathedral, who sings with the Guildford Cathedral singers and is a “Parish Link”, Mrs Barlow met her husband Sam at the cathedral where they were married in 1977. Their three children were also baptised there.

The five-star Adler Dolomiti Resort

The Italian holiday prize was donated by Haselmere Travel and the five-star Adler Dolomiti Resort . Gemma Antrobus, managing director of Haslemere Travel said: “We like to support local fundraising and one thing we can do is reach out to our partners and offer some nice holidays. If that helps locally, that is very important to us.”

Travel PR consultant Aly Cook, of Haslemere  added: “To save a Surrey landmark like this is so important to everybody.”

Dragon NEWS readers who wish to Make their Mark should contact: www.guildfordcathedralmym.com or call 01483 547 884.

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