THERE were several events throughout last year which kept Caldicot Male Voice Choir, its associated cycle club Côr Meibion Caldicot Cycle Club and the Birdie Boys Golf Society busy raising funds for a very worthy cause, Prostate Cymru. 

The year kicked off with a table top sale at the Choir Hall in January, raising more than £300, followed by the Cycle club undergoing an endurance ride around the wet and windy marshes of Redwick in which over 1,000 miles was covered by the fifteen or so cyclists who took part to raise about £600.  

Choir members of the cycling club and guest riders also endured three days of hard riding from Fishguard to Caldicot in July to raise about £5,000.

An open evening was also held at the hall, where members of the public were invited to listen to the choir practice, and give a short concert, where another £150 was raised.

Choristers and guests of the Birdie Boys then held a sponsored golf tournament at the St Pierre Resort near Chepstow in September which raised about £600. The final event of the year was a quiz night at the Choir Hall in late October to raise yet another £400.

The final result was that Mark Stocker, chairman of Caldicot Male Voice Choir was able, on January 26th 2015 at the Choir Hall to present Andy Thomas, senior urology consultant at Bridgend Hospital and president of Prostate Cymru, and former chorister Dai John with a cheque for £8,000 representing the total amount raised. This included a further £500 directly from the Cycle Club's own fund raising efforts and sponsorship.

Andy and Dai expressed their sincere thanks on behalf of Prostate Cymru for the inspiring efforts of all concerned and indicated that the money raised will help to train five surgeons to use the new Da Vinci robotic surgical procedures recently introduced into the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff as a result of Prostate Cymru funding.

This equipment, the first to be installed in Wales will enable a greater successful outcome for men suffering from prostate cancer.

The Choir's chosen charities for 2015 are to try to raise enough to buy Annalese Gosling, a local four year old suffering from FOP, commonly known as Stone Man Syndrome, to buy a new purpose built bed and Sparkle, a Newport based charity which supports severely handicapped children and those with learning difficulties or social problems to achieve a more rewarding life.