March 2007: A Celebration of Noruz, The Afghan New Year and Treasures from the Silk Road Exhibition and Sale.
There was an exciting exhibition and sale of Anne Hildyard's collection of Turkish kelim rugs, cushions, bags and slippers, Central Asian embroideries and robes, silver jewellery, oya scarves, felt hats, and favourite things from the bazaars of Istanbul. More than £70 was raised from this event!  Visit www.treasuresfromthesilkroad.com to see more information about the collection that was offered.

April 2007: London Marathon
Learning for Life was proud to have a team of four runners complete the London Marathon on April 22nd.  A gathering was held at The Star of the East pub in East London to cheer on and support our runners the day of the race.  LfL would like to thank Chris Hitchins, Vinesha Naidoo, Tola Ogundimu and Asif Ali for all their efforts and to congratulate them on finishing the race.

February 2007: An evening with Nick Danziger
Susan Gibson, Chair of LfL, organised an evening with Nick Danziger, author, documentary filmmaker and photographer, that featured his celebrated photography at the Millers Academy in London. Nick told the amazing stories of many of the children he had met on his travels, accompanied by breathtaking and often emotive photography. A delicious meal, kindly provided by the Chor Bizarre group, and drinks, provided by Cobra, followed this moving talk. This event raised a fantastic £3,132 from ticket sales and a generous donation from Nick Danziger from the sale of his books. LfL would like to thank Susan Gibson, Nick Danziger, Millers Academy, Chor Bizarre and Cobra for making this evening such a success.

October 2006: Charity Bridge Tournament
Gita Bilton, mother-in-law of famed model Lisa B, kindly hosted a bridge tournament and asked participants to contribute an entry fee to LfL. The tournament was a great success and raised £2000.

September 2006: Derek Hare's 'A Vision of India' Art Sale
Derek Hare, a talented British artist, became acquainted with LfL's work through trustee, Cyrus Todiwala, and kindly donated a percentage of his sales from his 'A Vision of India' exhibition to LfL. The exhibition was a huge success! Café Spice Namaste, owned by Cyrus, provided guests with delicious canapés and a total of £450 was raised.

August 2006: Cycling for Lives: Lands End to John O'Groats in support of Learning for Life
Day 1: 218 miles Lands End to Slimbridge (25 miles north of Bristol) took from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. For the support team it involved a 95 mile dash from Bodmin to Taunton Hospital to check out Jamsheed's severe back pain - and then back just as urgently to keep the others topped up with supplies of energy food. As they passed Taunton again we collected Jamsheed (a strained muscle was diagnosed) and just before Bristol, Ben had to climb into the car too when stomach cramps laid him prostrate by the road - they found him being looked after by a passing policeman. Meanwhile Robin rode on and, thanks to some extraordinarily powerful lights, could see his way up a dark dual carriageway and then some final lanes to the youth hostel where a hot shower, chicken, pasta, broccoli and a bed were waiting.

Day 2: 211 miles to Kendal via Kidderminster, Warrington and Lancaster. Up at 6.30, on the road at 8. Main roads gave way to country lanes, an afternoon dip in energy levels, then to a series of industrial towns and some traffic to joust with until the A6 took them from Preston to Kendal, once more out of the darkness at 11 p.m.

Day 3: 214 miles to Pitlochry. On the road again at 8am, over Shap in thick mist, through Penrith and Carlisle and out of England at Gretna in sunshine. Parallel to the motorway on a much quieter road following valleys, unable to avoid completely the Pentland Hills before crossing the Forth Bridge and heading for Perth. It was 11.15 when they climbed the last (steep) hill to the Pitlochry hostel - where the support car's posters had aroused a lot of interest.

Day 4: 210 miles final stage. Again it was up at 6.30 for the usual 8 o'clock start. Lovely weather was an advantage but saddle soreness meant Ben had to take some time out, alongside Jamsheed with a leg too painful to bend. By 3pm, there was still nearly 80 miles to go (and no time to visit the Glenmorangie Distillery!) Robin's energy had gone. He took an hour off, ate what he could, gathered himself psychologically and with all three on the road again they headed north at a mere 16 miles an hour. Spirits rose as the end approached - steep climbs out of river valleys along the coast were rewarded by 50 mph descents but it was into a starry night and it was 10 minutes past midnight when the finish line was reached - but we think that is still the 4th day!

So: 853 miles in a little over 61 hours to raise - with your help - enough money to help Learning for Life send children to school in South Asia.

Please go to www.justgiving.com/cyclingforlives to make a donation.

June 2006: Lisa B Lunch at Tyringham Hall
Susan Gibson, LfL Chair, organised a spectacular day out to Lisa B's country estate. Activities included a conducted tour of the Lutyens designed gardens, jewelley sale, raffle and a lunch prepared by gracious hostess Lisa B, who also showed guests around the house designed by Sir John Soane. The event raised an outstanding £5,545

May 2006: Jim Belben Bike Ride
In May 2006, Jim Belben and a team of 19 fellow bike riders cycled from Newcastle to Workington and back to raise money for Learning for Life.

This was the fourth bike ride for Jim and his team, who originally set out to raise money for the school their children attended. After achieving their objective of raising enough money for a new school hall they turned their efforts to helping schools less fortunate than their own and raised £6,500 for Learning for Life.