An afternoon tea event hosted by a Baroness has raised £7,500 for Letchworth-based Garden House Hospice Care.
The event was attended by Lord Anthony Clarke CBE and Lord Julian Fellowes and his wife, Lady Emma Fellowes, who are both Patrons of the hospice.
Over 125 guests helped to raise more than £7,500 and had the option of taking part in a guided tour of Parliament before having an afternoon tea in the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace overlooking the River Thames.
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff - who hosted the event earlier this month - is a professor of palliative care at Cardiff University Schoool of Medicine.
On the day, she stressed the importance of hospice care and supporting the whole family, especially bereaved children due to the long term effects it can have on their future.
John Procter, chairman of Garden House Hospice Care, thanked everyone for attending and said: "Currently we need to raise approximately £7,500 a day to run the hospice's services.
"It is the one statistic that keeps me awake at night. Donations are hard won, our shops are experiencing a tough trading environment but we remain resilient."
In a separate interview on his role as patron of the hospice, Lord Fellowes said: "One thing for certain is that we are all going to die and it seems important to continue the work of the hospice movement. In brief, making it possible to live with death.
"One of the most important roles that the hospice plays is enabling people to die in their homes - for me it's a very vital part of their work and I think it all comes under this blanket heading of living with death.
"I think the work that Garden House Hospice Care does is tremendously important. It is one of the most difficult times in people's lives, not dying, but having someone you love die.
"It can feel bewildering and lonely and I think all of the staff at the hospice helping people through it is fantastic."
Garden House Hospice Care needs to raise almost £5 million each year to continue providing its services to the communities in North Hertfordshire, Stevenage and towns and villages in Central Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
For more information about the hospice, go to ghhospicecare.org.uk.
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