02/02/2012 | On February 5th Katie would have been 19 and her immediate family will get together to celebrate this day in a way she would love.
Each and every day is difficult without her but some days are just worse than others. We hope you'll spare her a thought on the day.
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02/02/2012 | Please see examples of the two badges we're selling this year.
Our friends at bestbadges.co.uk have sent our art department these ahead of production later in the year. Please let us know if you would like either of them. The 2009 has been produced to allow Friends to complete their set of five badges.
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02/02/2012 | You may have heard that The Duchess of Cambridge has just become honorary patron of EACH (The East Anglian Children's Hospices)
I went onto their website and there I found an extraordinarily moving piece on a five year old girl who died from a brain tumour - her name, Katie. Have a look if you get a chance - it's inspiring and sad all at the same time.
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23/01/2012 | After all the money has been collected a total of almost £800 was raised from the ridiculously generous colleagues of Katie's Dad.
The money came from their Christmas Raffle, an auction, donating instead of sending Christmas cards and other donations. This all means that our latest target of £50,000 gets ever closer, only £1,966 to go!
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01/01/2012 | Our friends at Little Baddow Cricket Club have advised us that the date for this year's match will be Sunday 8th July.
Please keep this date free for what will incredibly be the 5th such event.
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02/02/2012 | Katie's Mum seen pictured here with the first winner of Katie's award Taylor Jacques.
Taylor who impressed the teachers at St Mary's by his hard work, positive attitude, politeness, kindness towards others, commitment to school activities both in school time and extra-curricular activities received his award back in July.
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31/12/2010 | Katie loved Christmas and during the festive period we hope to have loads of Christmassy things on the site.
However, Katie's Dad does not love Christmas as much as some and as a result you may see some alternative views. Look out too for the Xmas makeover of the website.
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31/12/2009 | The Editor of the Friends of Katie Website (aka Katie's Dad) shares his latest thoughts with you.
With the cracker season now in full swing you can guarantee the latest joke will be up to the usual high standard!.
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31/12/2009 | The Friends of Katie Website are delighted to announce that we have now welcomed our 7,000th visitor to the site.
We see a total of how many unique visitors have visited each day and since our launch in February this year the total is now well over 7,000.
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31/10/2009 | Please take the time to read our latest offering. If you busy right now you could always read it while X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing are on.
Surely your TV set comes with an off switch!
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31/07/2010 | The last two cricket matches were played out in glorious weather and we know Katie is looking down on us and sorting it out. The good news is that at the moment the weather looks fine for Sunday.
Temperatures should be around 23 degrees with sunny intervals. Anyway here's hoping and see you all very soon! Don't forget your picnics!
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31/03/2010 | Early on the morning of February 21st our 10,000th visitor logged on and we are currently contacting them with the news that they have won our prize.
As soon as this is done we will let you all know what they have won! It was ironic, yet nice, that the special visit was on the second anniversary of Katie's passing.
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30/11/2009 | Friends of Katie is disappointed to announce that Katie's Dad lost again recently on the horses.
This time Katies Tuitor (and that is how it is spelt) at Wincanton failed miserably. We are reliably informed the horse has now finished the race!
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30/09/2009 | Now all the excitement of the cricket match and summer party has died down we reflect on the reasons behind it.
The amount of money raised for the two causes was wonderful but the day was about more than just that.
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30/09/2009 | The 2009 Friends of Katie Sky Blue T Shirts proved very popular at the cricket match and are still available to buy.
Please let us know the size you require and they are yours. It was lovely to see so many beng worn on the day. The ribbons are available too for £1.
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30/08/2009 | Katie would be delighted that in her hero's last Test Match England have secured the Ashes.
Freddie Flintoff inspired England to a great victory at the Oval and Katie's Dad was lucky enough to be at the ground on Friday to see Stuart Broad rip through the Aussie's batting.
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30/06/2011 | Our 4th Annual Cricket Match is now next month so please remember to keep Sunday 17th July free!
The free 16 page souvenir programme is now available, please check this website for updates.
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29/10/2009 | We have been aksed by a Friend of Katie if it is possible to donate directly to Katie's burgeoning Little Haven's fund via this site.
The answer, unfortunately, is no however it is simple to donate to Little Havens by following their link on our site and clicking on
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29/04/2010 | Although a fur coat and a scarf is not the best attire for the heat of an late Aussie Summer Katie's Daisy is still enjoying herself.
She has been to the Sunshine Coast of Brisbane, the Sydney Opera House and Bondi Beach. She has fed Kangaroos, seen Koalas and sunbathed on Manly Beach.
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29/04/2010 | Loyal fans of our website may have noticed that there have been no updates for a week. This is due to half the office flying down to Australia.
Katie's Dad, Alison, Auntie Fan and Uncle Richard have spent some time in Brisbane and are now in Sydney. Also travelling is Katie's niece Helen and of course Daisy, one of Katie's bears, who now lives with Helen in Brisbane.
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29/03/2010 | Despite all their problems on and off the field the fans of Southend United continue to be great supporters of Little Havens.
Blues' fan Jonathan Howell took part in yesterday's Bath Half Marathon and particularly wanted to help the hospice in Katie's memory.
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28/11/2011 | The sun shone and Nick's XI won a close encounter by just 11 runs to retain the Friends of Katie Trophy.
The relaxed afternoon was enjoyed by a number of spectators who helped raise another £200 for Little Havens. The photo shows Nick's XI in deep conversation following another wicket.
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28/11/2010 | Westcliff High School for Girls where Katie attended have organised a week of fundraising activities in aid of Havens Hospices.
A team of Friends of Katie entered their Harry Potter themed Quiz Night and struggled to make an impact against a room full of bright students and teachers! I think we came 5th but I wont say how many teams took part! Anyway loads of dosh was raised.
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28/09/2011 | In these difficult financial times, unless you're a Premiership footballer, money is hard to come by.
We are so humbled by the amount of donations we get in Katie's memory the most recent of which came from Tim at Hometech se in lieu of some work he did for us. Top bloke!
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28/08/2010 | Katie's Dad shares his thoughts of another successful Cricket Match
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28/06/2010 | The naming rights sale has started well with the ball, scoreboard, the pampering Tent, 4 stumps, the Trophy, both toilets and the bails already sold. You still have the chance to put your name to one of the items left on our sale list that is attached.
Those who buy the right will have their chosen name on a sign on the day of the match along side their item and will receive a commemorative certificate as a souvenir of their kind generosity.
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28/02/2011 | Friends of Katie are delighted to announce that we have had confirmation from Little Havens that we have now raised £30,000
This is before the money raised by Westcliff School in Katie's memory is added on too! Thanks to everyone for your support!
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28/01/2011 | All at Friends of Katie wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011.
Here's to £40,000 for Little Havens next year!
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28/01/2010 | Police in Norfolk are on the lookout for the pair seen here in the snow at Sandringham.
Members of the public are advised not to approach them! Katie would be so embarrassed by her G-Mar and Uncle Richard!
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27/09/2009 | This week is Children’s Hospice Week which aims to raise awareness of the unique services available to children with life-limiting conditions and their families.
It’s also about raising vital funds for the UK’s children’s hospices. During this week last year Katie's parents went on BBC Essex Radio to talk about Katie and Little Havens.
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27/01/2011 | It is time for Katie’s Dad to share his thoughts with you again.
As Christmas inexorably approaches he struggles to see what is festive about our love affair with outdoor Christmas lights!
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26/10/2009 | We are pleased to announce that the total raised at the golf day for Little Haven was £2,080.
Please read on for details of the cash raised and of the golf itself.
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26/07/2011 | Friends of Katie Dave Kitteridge and Trudy Hagon-Torkington completed the Mulberry Mud Run for Little Havens.
The pair did the walk in Katie's memory resplendent in our sky blue T Shirts and apart from a slight delay due to Mother Nature it was a fantastic day and the target of £30,000 for Havens' Hospices should be reached.
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26/07/2010 | We are delighted to say that this year's souvenir programme is now available.
This year we have produced a 16 page edition that can be purchased on the day but will be useful if bought ahead of the match. Costing 50p it's available via this website, let us know if you want one.
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26/07/2010 | We are happy to announce that all the items in our Naming Rights have now been sold.
Thank you to all those who purchased items and there will be signs denoting this at the match and you will all receive commemorative certificates too.
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26/04/2011 | The Friends of Katie website is two years old and we thank you for your continued support.
Since February 2009 we have had over 25,000 visitors and we are sure Katie would approve of the site.
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26/04/2011 | Via various means we received many lovely messages on the 21st, a number via Facebook, from as far away as Australia and New Zealand.
Thank you to all those who helped make the day more bearable.
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25/11/2009 | The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed there was no blog last week.
Anyway, we are pleased to say Katie's Dad has put pen to paper and here is his latest effort..
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25/05/2009 | The six hour football marathon is over and so are some of the players' football careers!
The weather was kind and over £2,500 has been raised so far. Full story here.
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25/04/2010 | As Freddie and Daisy celebrate one year in the family latest images of them have now been added to our website.
These can be accessed via the Galleries link and then Freddie and Daisy One Year On
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25/03/2010 | As many of you know February 21st was the second anniversary of Katie's passing. Not only is it difficult to believe it is two years but sometimes it is difficult to believe that it has happened at all.
Although we are acutely aware of our loss to some extent we still live in a kind of bubble.
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25/02/2010 | As some of you know this Friday (5th February) is Katie’s birthday and she would have been 17. Every day without Katie is tough, it’s just that Friday will be just that bit tougher.
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25/01/2010 | Despite the inclement weather Katie's Dad has managed to write another blog and he's moaning again!
We can only apologise about the content of this week's ramblings and also for the quality of his latest joke. Read on if you wish.
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24/12/2009 | As the Christmas juggernault rolls on Friends of Katie are giving you the chance to condemn the things we don't like about the festive period to Room 101.
Room 101 comes from George Orwell's novel 1984 and the TV & Radio shows by the same name allow you to banish items to Room 101 for ever. We would like to give our readers the same chance.
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24/11/2011 | Little Havens Children's Hospice’s first ever Walkies in the Park took place in an attempt to raise £10,000.
The furry fundraiser took place on Sunday 23rd October in the beautiful Hylands Park, Chelmsford. Dog lovers bought their loyal friends a charity doggy neckerchief setting off on a one or three mile route around the park in the autumn sunshine.
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24/08/2011 | 250 Trolley tokens have arrived in the Friends of Katie offices.
They are beautifully designed with daisies on one side and a cat along with the inscription Katie Kat on the reverse. They cost £3 as do the 2011 badges or £5 for the pair. We hope you like them, Katie would be impressed!
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24/08/2009 | The first version of the 2009 cricket match gallery is now on the site.
Please do send us any phtotos you have of the day and we will add them on to the gallery. Any of Katie's Dad's innings would be particularly welcome!
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24/07/2010 | Cheques totalling £800 have been sent to Little Havens as a result of the joint Coffee Morning held by Katie's parents.
I am sure you'll agree this is an amazing amount and goes to prove yet again how generous people will be for good causes, especially if home made cakes are involved!
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24/07/2009 | Back in September last year Katie's Dad wrote about life without Katie.
Ths Southend Echo and the Essex Chronicle published the article and it is reproduced here.....
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24/06/2010 | The Third Friends of Katie Cricket Match is now officially next month. You can launch the promotional poster for the day via the attached link and this year we are producing a special 12 page souvenir programme which will be available very soon.
Also, next week we will be launching the Naming Rights for the day so look out for that on this very website.
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23/09/2009 | The Saturday evening quiz raised £430 for LH & AIS at the Danbury Mission.
Sunday saw Friends of Katie complete the Southend Half Marathon for Little Havens.
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23/08/2009 | Katie's Dad realises that when he did his Thankyous he forgot some people.
So to all those who helped make the day so special, and you know who you are, THANKS!
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23/06/2011 | The response to the announcement of this year's naming rights has been amazing and incredibly all items have now been sold!
Thank you to all those who have sponsored the items for this year's match and your names will be in lights on the day and you will of course receive your commemorative certificates too.
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23/06/2009 | Katie was at it again as her Dad celebrated his birthday on May 10th.
While enjoying lunch there came overhead an amazing vapour trail that can only have been one thing!
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23/04/2010 | Members of Katie's family plus Sooty the dog completed the Havens to Havens walk in beautiful Spring sunshine.
Hundreds of supporters of both Havens Hospices took part in the walk through woodlands, past Hadleigh Castle and through Old Leigh to raise much needed funds.
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23/02/2011 | As the second anniversary of the launch of Katie's web site approaches we are just a few visits short of the 25,000 mark.
We have had visitors from all over the world so thank you for your continued support, Katie would be so proud, and we promise to have the date for the cricket soon!!!
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23/01/2012 | Friends of Katie wish you all a great festive period and wonderful 2012
Don't worry we'll be here next year maintaining Katie's remarkable legacy. Also pleased to say that colleagues of Katie's Dad raised £300 for Little Havens at their Xmas raffle.
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22/12/2011 | We have just had our 30,000th visitor to Katie's site which is amazing!
Thanks for visiting us and we hope you like what you see and you come back to visit us very soon.
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22/12/2010 | Our art department have sorted out the problems and the new cricket gallery from this year's game is now on the site.
Please check out the Latest Galleries section and check out the one called Lots More Photos....
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22/11/2009 | Another bad experience for Katie's Dad as he bets on the greyhound Katie Two in the 3.28 at Hove to win and you can guess the rest.
As if supporting Southend United was not a big enough gamble!
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22/03/2011 | Katie is in our hearts and minds even more over this month.
Katie would have been 18 on February 5th and it will be three years ago on February 21st that she passed away. Please keep her in your thoughts.
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22/02/2010 | We are pleased to say there is a piece in this week's Essex Chronicle about Katie.
The piece is lovely however I don't remember Daniel Radcliffe at our golf day!
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21/10/2010 | Katie loved Norman Wisdom and would be sad to hear of his death aged 95.
She loved shouting
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21/10/2010 | We have just received an update on the amount of money we have raised in Katie's memory for Little Havens.
Sarah Franklin has told us that the new total now stands at an incredible £27,624.84!
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21/09/2010 | Robbie has finished his counting, done his sums and we are pleased to announce that the total amount raised was £2,130.
This will be split £1,675 for Little Havens and £455 for the Danbury Mission. Thanks again to every one who attended the game and gave so generously.
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21/07/2011 | The weather stayed fine as Friends of Katie Lynn Phillips and Brigid & Tony Wallen completed the Race for Business in aid of Little Havens.
Essex and England legend Graham Gooch started the event and presented the prizes. Brigid was the fourth quickest lady in the field of around 1,600 while Tony was 42nd overall.
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21/07/2010 | We have now had official confirmation from Little Havens that Friends of Katie have now raised £25,000 in Katie's memory. The hospice have sent us this certificate to acknowledge our achievement.
We have also received from the hospice a breakdown of where our money has been spent. Please see below for a brief summary. It should also be remembered that we have also raised over £1,250 for the Danbury Mission too.
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21/07/2009 | We are pleased to announce the current total raised for LH by Friends of Katie.
We have now raised over £16,300 for Little Haven Children's Hospice in Southend.
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21/05/2010 | Katie's cousin James who stars for Nick's XI in our cricket match has just completed a tandem sky dive while down in New Zealand.
If you check out his palm you will see that Katie is always in his thoughts. Click on More... and then double click on the image to see it fully.
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21/05/2009 | Leeds United fan Gareth Boggis's amazing fund raising for Little Haven.
Here is Gareth's story.....
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21/05/2009 | The Quiz was a great success with £1,050 being raised for the two charities.
The Questions, along with the answers, are now on the site for you to try at home. The winning team scored 84 points out of a possible 100.
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21/05/2009 | Katie attended St Mary's C of E Primary School in Woodham Ferrers and loved her time there. There is now a bench at the school in her memory.
Please read the story of the bench and an interview with her half brothers Toby and Charlie.
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21/03/2010 | As we thought you like our new What's The Point Of game. We have received a number of suggestions.
Please send us, as many as you want, anything that completely baffles you. Nothing unplesant, Katie would not approve, just a bit of fun and a chance to vent that spleen again! Please read on.....
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20/10/2011 | We are delighted to say that we have taken delivery of this year's Tee Shirts.
The beautiful lilac shirts designed by our friends at Sport Matters in Braintree are available in S, M, L & XL. Please let us know if you would like to reserve one, we are asking a £5 donation. Thank you.
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20/05/2009 | Wednesday 1st April saw the first Friends of Katie Awards Evening that recognised the hard work of the last 12 months.
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20/05/2009 | Think it's fair to say that Katie did a great job of making us smile and in many ways continues to do so.
We all must remember how she would brighten our days even when she was unwell and we would like to hear from you..
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20/05/2009 | Katie loved her cricket, she loved playing it and more importantly she loved beating her Dad at it!
Her Dad writes......
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20/05/2009 | Katie spent some time in Great Ormond Street Hospital and her Mum has recently revisited GOSH.
The story of the visit will be on the site soon and attached is GOSH's leaflet that uses the iconic photo of Katie.
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20/05/2009 | There were many highlights of last years Cricket Match one of which was the number of spectators resplendent in their white Friends of Katie Tee Shirts
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20/05/2009 | Just over two years ago and just after Katie found out that her condition was terminal she was baptised at the Danbury Mission along with her Step-dad Rob. In front of a packed church and showing immense courage Katie read out a truly moving testimony.
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20/05/2009 | At Katie's funeral at St Mary's Church Woodham Ferrers her former youth pastor at The Danbury Mission, Nick Jackman, read her eulogy. Nick would like to share it with you a year on...
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20/05/2009 | It is just over a year since we lost Katie. Katie's funeral was held on March 3rd 2008 and Rob, Katie's step-dad, has written movingly about the extraordinary step-daughter he loved.
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20/05/2009 | Thanks to monies raised by Friends of Katie two extra long teenage beds have been installed at Little Havens. Please read more about where some of your money has gone.
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20/05/2009 | Saturday February 21st 2009 was the first anniversary of Katie's passing and her family faced the difficult decision of how to spend the day.
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20/05/2009 | Across the pond in the US there is the another Friends of Katie website which is dedicated to 13 year-old Katie McBride who passed away on March 1st 2008 following an 18 month battle against leukaemia
The website contains her story, photographs, a Guest book plus information on fundraising events.
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20/05/2009 | Football fans often get a bad name, Southend supporters show this is not always the case....
When Katie died we put a note on the message board of Shrimperzone (A forum for fans of Southend United) as we knew that would be way of telling Southend fans who knew of Katie the news.
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20/01/2011 | Katie loved Christmas as you know and she particularly loved cracker jokes.
These gags keep Katie's Dad going as he aims to maintain his usual high standard of jokes. Anyway, to be going on with here are some old crackers!
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20/01/2010 | All at the Friends of Katie website wish you a Happy 2010. Thank you for your support as amazingly since our launch in February we have had over 8,000 visits.
Also thanks for supporting Little Havens and our other chosen charities that would make Katie so happy and proud of what we have achieved. We miss Katie every day and 2010 will be no different but you make it a lot easier.
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19/10/2009 | The third blog written by Katie's Dad is now available to read.
We hope you enjoy his attempts at humour and also the more serious stuff too. Don't forget the previous blogs, if not on the front page, can be found via the Articles tab.
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19/09/2009 | On the day of the cricket match and summer party one moment in particular touched Katie's family.
The nine year old daughter of one of Katie's Dad's neighbours had a lovely surprise for us....
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19/08/2009 | We have not counted all the money yet but it seems that the total will be around £1,500
All this will help Friends of Katie fund up to £20,000 and help the Danbury Mission too!!
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19/04/2010 | There has been much publicity recently about the rights and wrongs of giving to charities and this will be more evident this week as Sport Relief comes to our TV screens
There should be more to charites than simply rattling a collection tin something that Eddie Izzard has proved in a big way.
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19/02/2010 | Welcome to the 13th blog which of course could be unlucky for some. Actually for those of you who have read these blogs you will probably think yourself extremely unlucky anyway.
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18/11/2010 | Every day is Rememberance Day as far as Katie is concerned but now is the time we remember all those who have died in conflict.
Also, November 8th would have been Katie's Grandad's (Nick's Dad) 91st birthday.
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18/07/2010 | There are many times when the loss of Katie has us in tears when we least expect. However, there are also many times when tears of joy and laughter fill our eyes.
Katie's Mum and Dad were tending her grave recently when Nick's size 11s trod on Jo's glases that were on the floor. Katie would have loved it as her Mum left the graveside looking rather like Jack Duckworth!
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18/06/2010 | Katie's Mum, Dad, Step Dad Rob, Alison, Toby and Charlie made an emotional, yet incredibly uplifting, visit to Little Havens.
The visit was arranged so we could see where some of our £25,000 had been spent. Head of Care at Little Haven, Lauren Summers, showed us around the impressive improvements made at the hospice thanks to our fund raising.
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18/05/2010 | As Katie's Daisy relaxed with a new friend Down Under Katie's Dad was learning much about a country he was unsure about.
Here are some of his findings with apologies to all the lovely people he met who were so kind. Furthermore with every ex comedian and actor in the world having taken part in one travel programme or another surely its time for Katie's Dad to have a go!
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18/02/2010 | Colleagues of Katie's Dad have been amazingly generous and donated £280 to Little Havens in lieu of sending Christmas Cards.
Add to that £221 raised through a raffle at the company too and Little Havens will soon be receiving a cheque for over £500!...
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18/01/2010 | After a couple of weeks off Katie's Dad returns with a message for you all and some news about this year's Cricket Match.
Bad news is there is no joke this week, this of course maybe viewed as good news by many! A New Year is with us and those New Years Resolutions have already been broken, the weather is grotty, the trains are not running and we are all miserable.
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17/07/2009 | Among the 100s of beautiful photos of Katie this one has been chosen to publicise the cricket match.
Look out for it in the papers, in the match programme and on this site.
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17/02/2011 | More technological advances as there is now a Friends of Katie Twitter account for you to follow.
This will give updates of what's going on with us and for you tweeters the account name is FriendsOfKatie. Of less importance is the fact that Rob and Katie's Dad tweet under MrMercator and Hartypoos respectively - if you're interested!
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16/12/2010 | For those of you who attended Katie's funeral you will remember Nick Jackman's eulogy and his Five Words For Katie.
Every time I read this it brings a lump to my throat, a tear to my eye and smile - all at the same time! Please find via the More button an abridged version for you to read.
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16/11/2009 | Katie's Dad has been on that PC again reminiscing about our beautiful Katie.
Please have a read and we hope you enjoy this week's joke - it's of the usual standard.
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16/08/2010 | One of the many attractions of the cricket match will be the arrival of two of Katie's Aunts, Penny and Haze, as they complete their sponsored ride from Colchester to Little Baddow.
Full details of their ride and how to sponsor them can be found on the link that apears if you click on More....
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16/08/2009 | Katie's Dad thought it was an omen in the bookies yesterday when he saw a dog called Katie Dear running in the 12.47 at Oxford.
It was 5/2 favourite so naturally he had bet on it to win and.........
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16/06/2010 | It’s been a while since Katie’s Dad shared his thoughts with you so read on. We promise there is not a mention of the word “coalition” anywhere.
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16/05/2011 | Settling down to watch this years 49 IPL cricket games, sad I know but it's all to do with planning for our match in July. I needed a team to follow.
An early game I watched was between new teams the Pune Warriors and the Kochi Tuskers. I liked Kochi's kit and I liked their initials even more! That's settled then!
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15/12/2009 | October 21st meant it was 20 months since we lost Katie.
It has been an emotional time for all Friends of Katie but a lot has been achieved in her memory and this website has helped in keeping her legacy very much alive.
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15/09/2010 | In a game played in glorious weather Nick's XI sneaked home in a tight finish. Nick's XI scored 157-5 from their 25 overs and Rob's XI made 146-7.
James Brown was Man of the Match and Alfie Abbott won the Champagne Moment in a game watched by 100s of spectators. Full details of money raised and loads of photos to follow shortly.
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15/07/2011 | It's July 2nd and we are enjoying the sunshine on Palm Bay beach in Margate when 50 jet skis shatter the silence.
We discovered it was a charity ski from Clacton and back and the charity - yes you've guessed it - Little Havens! The Clacton Watercraft Club had organised the event that proves it is a small world and Little Havens is a great cause.
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15/06/2011 | We hope you like our new look that our IT department have created.
We also hope you will spot the subtle reminder of our cricket match too!
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15/05/2010 | St George's Day and the Friends of Katie who made the trip down under have all returned with stories to tell
We are also pleased to say that Katie's fund has been added to in the form of Australian Dollars kindly donated by the Friends of Katie Aussie branch.
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15/03/2010 | Friends of Katie wishes all you Mums out there a great Mother's Day.
Make sure there is breakfast in bed, nice flowers and chocolates and lunch cooked for you!
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14/11/2010 | Havens Hospices bi-annual magazine has just been published and there is a piece in there about Katie and our fund-raising.
The article magazine can be viewed on line on the Havens website and the magazine can be picked up at Havens' shops. The article is on page 5 and you are warned, there is a photo of us all!
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14/10/2009 | Please see the new gallery, courtesy of Mitch, with loads of action shots from the game and read on for a full report of the match that resulted in a win for Nick's XI by 29 runs.
A brilliant game played in beautful sunshine and played in the right spirit. Katie would have been impressed, if not a little shocked, by the Man of the Match winner!
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14/09/2009 |
When Fan Brown, Katie's Auntie, decided to arrange a fund raising event in aid of Little Haven Children’s Hospice we needed an idea ..
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14/07/2009 | Poster to advertise the Cricket Match is available here to download.
Please use it to publicise the event.
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14/03/2011 | We are delighted to annouce that our friends at Little Baddow Cricket Club have advised that Sunday 17th July is the date for this year's match.
Incredibly this will be our 4th game and as Katie would have celebrated her 18th this year, this Saturday 5th February to be precise, then the match will take on even more significance. Please keep your diaries clear!
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14/03/2010 | Katie's Dad has been gathering his thoughts over the last seven days and has decided to share them with you.
You lucky people!
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14/01/2011 | Friends of Katie wish you all a wonderful festive period and a brilliant 2011.
Looks like we have a new target of £40,000 for Little Havens in Katie's memory so watch this space. As Katie would say XOXOXOXO!
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13/12/2010 | As we all know Katie had an infectious giggle that would always light up our lives even during the darkest of days.
She would have loved an incident this Sunday that may seem a little inappropriate but would have appealed to her sense of humour,
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13/06/2010 | Katie's Uncle Graham looks thoughtful as the cricket match is now just over two months away. The planning is well underway and the site will keep you updated of developments over the next few weeks as Sunday 25th July draws ever nearer.
There will be new attractions this year as well as the old favourites and we really hope you can be there. Please keep the date clear and let all your friends know - all are welcome!
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13/04/2011 | It is incredibly three years since Katie's passing and we will endeavour to make the day one Katie would have enjoyed.
Please spare a moment to remember our darling girl on the day.
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13/03/2010 | As predicted we as a family celebrated what would have been Katie's 17th birthday in a manner she definitely would have approved of.
We spent the day at Lakeside shopping, shopping, drinking coffee, eating cakes, shopping, shopping, eating cakes, drinking coffee, shopping and enjoying a nice big dinner!
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13/01/2010 | Thanks to those who took time to send in suggestions for our Christmas Room 101 - Some of you clearly have many issues with Christmas!
Anyway, after much debate the committee, Katie's Dad, have come up with this definitive list. Unfortunately the decision is final and there is no right of appeal.
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12/12/2011 | Friends of Katie are pleased to say that colleagues of Katie's Dad at Guy Carpenter are again holding their annual Xmas raffle.
The raffle normally raises around £600 and proves amazingly popular with staff due to the excelent prizes on offer and of course the wonderful cause. Onwards to £50,000 then!
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12/08/2009 | Not quite sure how the table holding the cakes did not collapse under the weight.
Thanks to all those who baked cakes and also to those who bid successfully in the auction for the leftovers!
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12/05/2010 | There are worse places to be stuck in but with the Icelandic volcano affecting flights worldwide it looks like some members of Katie's family wont be home for a while.
Katie's Auntie Fan and Uncle Richard did leave Brisbane last Thursday but are now stuck in Malaysia.
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12/04/2010 | All at Friends of Katie hope you have a nice Easter break and that the weather improves at least to above freezing!
We are sure we have heard that recent research suggests chocolate is good for you so our advice is to eat loads of Easter eggs before they change their minds again.
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12/02/2010 | We are pleased to announce that the 2010 Friends of Katie Cricket Match will take place on Sunday July 25th at Little Baddow Cricket Club.
This is the third such event and we aim to make it the best yet. Please keep the date free and regular updates will appear on this site as the date approaches. Don't worry It will soon be Summer!
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11/09/2010 | Friends of Katie announce the bidding is open for our great holiday flat auction. Due to the property's popularity it is up for auction for one week only.
Please make your bid for a one week break from September 18th to 25th. Full details are below.
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10/11/2009 | Katie's Dad was wasting his (and his brother's) money again recently as Kool Katie failed to win the 4.25 at Ayr.
How could he resist a horse with a name like that and with numerous greyhounds with Katie in their names too it could be an expensive time ahead!
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10/10/2009 | Like London Buses you wait all that time for one Blog and two come along almost at once!
Katie's Dad has written his second piece, hope you find it enjoyable.
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10/09/2009 | Katie's Auntie Penny completed her climb to the top of Ben Nevis in aid of Little Havens
She finished by lunchtime having set off at dawn. Penny talks of the climb, of peanut butter sandwiches and of being flooded....
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10/08/2010 | We have received many messages following this year's cricket match all of which we have put on the site under Latest Messages
Its is a hard day for us all emotionally as you will see from Jo's message and my failed attempt to talk about Katie during my after match ramblings. However, it is lovely to hear from you and it makes the hard work all worthwhile.
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10/08/2010 | We have now taken delivery of this year's badges which are the same design as those in 2008 but in lilac and are beautiful. These, alongside the sky blue ribbons and tee shirts and Fridge Magnets will be available on the day amomg other goodies.
Should you not be able to attend but would like any of the above drop us a line and we'll sort it out for you. We are not sure of the weather yet for next Sunday but the party will go ahead regardless so please come along!
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10/08/2009 | A cricket bat signed by Freddie Flintoff, Kevin Pieterson, Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss etc. will be in the auction.
Also a signed Southend United shirt and cricket ball signed by Glenn McGrath and Darren Gough.
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10/06/2009 | Sarah and Kay complete the Race!
10 minutes quicker than last year despite the heat......
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10/02/2010 | All the recent bad weather obviously proved too much for one snowman in Newcastle as he took time out from his daily grind.
This brilliant snowman is actually the handiwork of Katie's Auntie Penny who clearly has too much time on her hands!
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10/01/2010 | Our Christmas Room 101 has certainly got people talking and made us realise that are some spectaculalry grumpy people about - in a nice way of course!
To enjoy a real master moaner at work have at look at the excerpt below that is taken from a piece Jeremy Clarkson wrote about leaving the UK to live somewhere else. It's priceless.
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09/10/2011 | The £1,500 we raised at the cricket match despite the bad weather continues to be added to.
Cheques arrive every day at our offices and don't forget many of our souvenirs are still available. Thanks to all the many of you who turned up and helped make the day so special despite the lack of cricket!
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09/07/2010 | Katie's Uncle Graham was in South Africa enjoying three World Cup games in Cape Town
At the England v Algeria game he wore his white Friends of Katie T shirt so was easy to spot among 20,000 other English fans in white shirts. Doh! Although he only stayed for 10 days he only just got home before the England team!
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09/06/2011 | We are delighted to annouce that the total now raised in Katie's memory for Little Havens now stands at £37,000!
Havens Hospices recently received funds from Katie's old school, Westcliff High, raised from their charity week. We really hope get up to £40,000 at this year's cricket match.
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09/04/2010 | Here I go again with some more moans, some news about the Cricket Match and a really bad joke that you cannot blame me for!
So here is the latest blog though it's a bit Ronnie Corbett - shorter than normal.
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09/01/2010 | A quick note from all of us at the Friends of Katie website office to wish you all a very Happy Christmas.
Thanks for being part of the site and almost daily we hear of a new Friend who hears Katie's story and so her legacy grows a little more.
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08/11/2010 | Katie's Dad would like to share with you a recently published list of words and phrases that have seeped into our language.
Read and weep!
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08/09/2010 | Friends of Katie Paul Franklin (who played in the cricket match) and Sarah Fowler completed the above in Katie's memory.
Novice runner Sarah completed the course in 33 minutes and 52 seconds finishing 260th. We have no news of Paul's time!
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08/07/2009 | Local cricketers raise funds for Little Haven.
Cricketers young and old don their whites for a good cause.
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08/06/2010 | Photos of Daisy from Katie's family's recent trip to Australia are now available via the Latest Galleries tab.
Here is a taster with Daisy just about to go surfing on Bondi Beach in Sydney. Our art department have now added the full collection of Daisy's pics.
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08/03/2010 | Katie’s Dad has found his keyboard and has deigned to share his latest words of wisdom with us.
It is a wonder his computer has survived as after Southend United’s run of bad results on and off the field in 2010 a number of household items have been hurled at various walls.
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07/12/2009 | Bet you thought, or hoped, he had forgotten.
No such luck, here is the latest from the keyboard of Katie's Dad as he does a fine impression of Ebenezer Scrooge as Christmas draws ever nearer. Also, thanks to our friends at weaveaweb you can now look at the old blogs via the blog tab above.
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07/11/2011 | Little Havens have advised us that the total now raised in Katie's memory is over £45,000
This follows funds received from the Elm Green Preparatory School in Little Baddow following their Summer Ball. Thanks again for all your support - £50,000 here we come!
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07/10/2009 | Here it is, Katie's Dad's first blog. We hope you enjoy his first effort.
Now he knows what a blog is you can enjoy his thoughts and hopefully it wont be too long until the next one. Please read on......
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07/04/2011 | Katie's family would like to thank you for all the messages and gifts that we received on what would have been Katie's 18th Birthday.
As we suspected the day was tough but your support as always really helped us.
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06/07/2009 | £480 is raised for Little Havens and the Forget-Me-Not charities
A great effort as friends & colleagues put on pounds but give pounds too!
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06/01/2012 | April 2011 saw Katie's half brother Charlie and other Little Havens' siblings enjoy five days sailing.
The trip, organised by the Cirdan Sailing Trust saw the 10 children plus helpers sail on The Queen Galadriel around the east coast. Please check out the Gallery above and please also read on....
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05/10/2010 | Our statistics department tell us that the numbers of visitors to Katie's website has just topped 20,000!!
Thanks for your support and please keep visiting!
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05/10/2009 | One of Katie's many teddy bears has gone with Katie's cousin, Helen, on a three year jaunt to Australia.
Read about Daisy's adventures soon as she begins to enjoy life in Brisbane. Helen has been busy taking Daisy to the beach and the zoo and we now have the photos to prove it!
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05/08/2010 | The cakes have been baked, the weather looks good, the players have been selected, the souvenirs are all made, the programmes are printed....
All we need now is you! From Oxfordshire, Cambridge, Newcastle, Norfolk and London you are on the way and we can't wait to see you all and help make it a day Katie would love. See you soon!
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05/07/2010 | Katie's Dad's colleagues again showed their generosity and their baking skills as £300 was raised in aid of Little Havens.
Despite many staff being on holiday or away on business those who were in the office dug deep and what was a creaking table of goodies at 8.30 was reduced to a pile of crumbs by the end of the day.
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05/07/2010 | Jo, Katie's Mum, raised over £435 from her coffee morning in aid of Little Havens. This is not quite the final total either!
An amazing effort which Nick, Katie's Dad, will have to match this Friday when he organises one at his office. He has even done some baking himself which he thought was easy, a piece of cake in fact!
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05/05/2010 | From Koala hugging to Dolphin watching (minus the dolphins) Katie's family are loving life down under.
There has been feeding Kangaroos, reminding the Aussies who hold the Ashes and much drinking of cold beer.
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05/02/2011 | Just a quick note to let you know that almost £450 was raised for Little Havens by colleagues at Katie's Dad's company over Christmas!
Also we should have the date for this year's Cricket Match very soon so don't book those holidays yet! More details on the fundraising and other news will be on the site soon.
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04/11/2009 | Ex England cricketer Mark Butcher's two hour set at Club Riga in Southend was enjoyed by many Friends of Katie.
Mark was asked after the gig if he would like to play for Nick's XI in Katie's match next year! His answer is confidential.
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04/07/2011 | Those of you in the Southend area may have been lucky enough to see our publicity in the Southend Echo this week.
Fear not, for those of you who didn't we have attached a scan of the article! Be warned there is a photograph that you may find disturbing! The article also appeared in the Chelmsford Weekly News.
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04/03/2010 | We are delighted to announce the new total raised in Katie's memory.
We have received this update from the hospice which of course means we are edging closer to our latest target of £25,000. Thanks to everyone for their continued support. It means as much to us now as ever!
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04/02/2010 | We are delighted that the local press have printed a piece about Katie and our fundraising.
The article was printed last Friday and was also published in the Southend Standard. The full article is attached and also please cut and paste the link below to their website.
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04/01/2010 | Little Havens have been in touch to give us a new total raised by Friends of Katie.
The current total raised is actually £23,131 - The good work will carry on but Thankyou Everyone.
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03/11/2009 | Apologies for putting this upon you but as I am sure Katie would not mind it becomes Katie related therefore ok for the site!
If you are from Southend your local football club needs you, if you bring your boots who knows!
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03/07/2011 | Six members of Katie's immediate family, plus dog, have completed the 12 mile Havens to Havens walk.
Over 300 walkers enjoyed glorious weather, particularly on Hadleigh Downs. Please see the new gallery that is now on our site.
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03/02/2011 | The GQ Best-Dressed List 2011 features Little Britain star David Walliams at 11, Doctor Who's Matt Smith, a new entry at 12, David Beckham at 16 and Prime Minister David Cameron, who has dropped from eighth place last year to 20.
David Beckham's eight-year-old son Romeo also makes the list for the first time. The big news though is who is at Number 49! See the attached list for full details.
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03/02/2010 | You would think the New Year might have chilled him out a bit, especially in all the bad weather.
Anyway, if you cannot stomach anymore then please at least check out a beautiful photo of Katie.
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02/12/2009 | The seventh blog has arrived – Katie's Dad cannot believe he has inflicted so many on you already!
Oh well, read on and we hope you enjoy it. Beware of the bad joke though.
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02/11/2011 | Friends of Katie would like to said a big Thank You to you all for your support over the summer
Thanks to you we have raised thousands for Little Havens over recent months and your support at both cricket matches is so humbling and helps us keep Katie's memory very much alive.
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02/11/2010 | Little Havens has been announced winner of the Best Lottery Funded Voluntary/Charity Project during The National Lottery’s Big Night.
Little Havens was awarded £650,000 from the Big Lottery Fund in 2002 which funded eight specialist children’s nurses for three years securing the charity a place in the final of the awards.
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02/02/2012 | All at Friends of Katie wish you a happy and healthy 2012.
Please keep visiting us, we're three in February, and we are already planning for July 8th.
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02/01/2011 | We all know that Katie loved playing games and she was particularly good at them!
Even when she was unwell she would always be up for a game, normally winning. In this week’s blog Katie’s Dad looks back with fondness at some of the games played.
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01/12/2010 | This year's Great North Run saw a teacher at Katie's old junior school raise money in her memory.
Samantha Johnson who taught both Katie's half brothers at St Mary's South Woodham completed the course in 3 hours 10 seconds. She raised an amazing £603 but adds the race was probably her first and last big running event!
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01/10/2010 | You wil see from our Latest Galleries list that our art department have added photos from this year's Cricket Match.
We would love to receive any of your photos that you would like to share. Look out too this week for news of our holiday auction.
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01/07/2009 | April 2007 saw Katie and her family enjoy two wonderful days in London.
The trip was thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation....
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01/06/2011 | As we enter our fourth year without Katie we often stop and think about the way we are dealing with our loss.
Should we be doing this, behaving like that or feeling in a particular way. A bereavement counsellor once said to me that your grief is your own and you should deal with how you feel is right. Please read on....
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01/06/2010 | Although each day without Katie is filled with sadness so often something makes us so proud and reminds us how she continues to touch so many. We certainly made sure we spread the word in Australia!
Today we received a message from Brazil that you can see on the left of this home page under Latest Messages. Although our statistics tell us that our website is read in all four corners of the World it is still lovely to receive such a message.
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01/05/2011 | 15th March 2008 saw Katie's Service of Celebration at the Danbury Mission where she worshipped.
There was standing room only as speakers from the church and from Little Haven spoke about Katie. Although there have been many tough days since we still believe her life should be celebrated. Please read on....
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01/01/2012 | We are pleased to say that both Dave Wilson & Alan Monte who starred for Nick's XI in this year's cricket will be taking part in the above event in Katie's memory.
Dave, who will be running for Little Havens, ran his first marathon this year said it would be an honour to run in Katie's memory. Please read on.....
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