We recently took on the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in a charity football match at The Nest in Horsford on Saturday 18th June 2022 to raise funds for Norfolk Hospice Tapping House and The Fire Fighters Charity – and we won!
The 90-minute 11-a-side match was played in tribute to Alan Gillings, Clerk of Works at the council, who passed away last month at Tapping House aged 72. Alan played in the last match Lovell and the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk played in 2019 which saw team Lovell lift the trophy. We won the match on Saturday 2-1, retaining the title and money raised from the match from both teams is being split between the charities.
We caught up with Michael Saunders, our operations manager and manager of the Lovell football team on Saturday, who said: “This much anticipated rematch was delayed due to the pandemic and it didn’t disappoint! It was a fantastic game as we always love competing against the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk. We were fortunate to play at The Nest, home of The Community Sports Foundation, which has fantastic facilities. At Lovell we had everyone from surveyors to site managers and site staff taking part and it was a lot of fun as we worked as a team, and we all took it very seriously! Everyone taking part in the match has contributed to the charities in Alan’s name and we also held a minutes applause before kick-off.”
James Grant, Principle Project Manager at the borough council, said afterwards: “Whilst it was a disappointing loss for the borough council, the money raised, the strengthening of relationship with our development partner, and most importantly playing in memory of our friend and colleague Alan Gillings made the day an incredibly enjoyable, rewarding, and poignant.
“Both teams played incredibly well, in good sprit, with few fouls and no cards given. It was a close game which could have gone either way and whilst the "Lovell Lions" took the trophy 2-1 we look forward to challenging them and beating them next time. Well done and thank you to all that played, and a special thank you to Trevor Haystead for refereeing and The Nest for hosting us all.”
A Just Giving page has been set up for the two charities and the football game has raised £160 so far – with donations still welcome. Crowdfunding to be split between Norfolk Tapping House and Fire Fighters Charity in memory of Alan Gillings on JustGiving
The Fire Fighters Charity provides life-enhancing services to the fire and rescue community, and its support programmes include rehabilitation, recuperation, psychology and nursing.
The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House is an independent charity committed to providing outstanding care for people living with life-shortening illnesses and to their carers, family and friends including bereavement support.
Alan’s family set up a donations page for both charities and donations can still be made for each charity here ALAN JAMES GILLINGS | memorygiving.com
