Alan’s Wake Party

I hope you are all well and enjoying this lovely summer, whether at home or away.

As you know my lovely husband Alan died last year and due to Covid we had a very small funeral – just the six of us –  and no Wake to celebrate his life, so we have decided to hold a celebration party on Saturday October 2nd.

Alan was such a positive driving force behind the scenes of the Discover Gather Give Arts events, supporting me both physically – have you any idea how heavy those large display boards are? – and mentally to pull everything together with planning, setting out the designs for exhibition spaces and of course two days of washing up in the Town Hall kitchen!

Alan loved watching the boys play rugby, the tours when they were small and socials as they grew; so we are donating a silver cup to Stratford-upon-Avon Rugby Club for the Man of the Match for the Developmental Team to be celebrated every time the team plays at home. The inaugural award will be given after the match between Stratford and local rivals Shottery on October 2nd at 3pm. It has free entry and plenty of parking for the day.

Our plan is for you to join us at the Rugby Club to watch the match and dedication of the cup, followed by a short walk to Cox’s Yard (ten minute stroll) for food, drink and swapping merry Alan stories. We aim to trickle into Cox’s yard at about 6.30pm, raising a dram to Alan near 7.00pm followed by a buffet from 7.30pm.

As the day is split into watching rugby and an early evening celebratory party, you are welcome to join us for the whole day and evening, just the match or join us at the celebratory wake party to raise a glass and lend an Alan related story. We’re hoping to fill a pinboard with memories and photos of Alan, so if you’d like to contribute please feel free to bring them along with you or email them to me.

The dress code is casual as we will be dressed for rugby, however a flash of tartan would never go a miss.

The Rugby club address

Pearcecroft, 67 Loxley Rd, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 7DP

Cox’s Yard address

Bridge Foot, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6YY

Parking information

Parking is free at the Rugby Club, however the gates close after the match. The closest parking is in the Marina car park, Bridgefoot car park or the Leisure Centre. here is the link to parking in Stratford:-  https://www.stratford.gov.uk/parking-roads-transport/car-parks-in-stratford-upon-avon.cfm

RSVP for the Wake Party

Hugs all round

Judith, Jo and Joey, Cally, Alex, Ru and Brodie xxx

Update Oct 3rd 2021

What an incredible day and evening – Alan would have loved it!

Thank you to the huge crowd at the rugby, Richard Jasper from The International Highlanders for his rendition of ‘Flower of Scotland’ on the bagpipes and to all our friends and family who made it so special…..