September saw a mix of fundraisers and diverse events, but what had everyone talking was the coffee cup ‘bomb’ hoax.
The ‘bomb’ – a takeaway coffee cup with wires and tape attached – caused an enormous amount of alarm and distress after being discovered in a Stevenage town centre car park near TK Maxx.
All the streets were codorned off around The Forum, St George’s Way and part of Fairlands Way at 9am on September 27 and staff and customers were evacuated from shops.
The bomb disposal team called in and detonated the device which turned out to be a hoax.
In other news, a Stevenage man with motor neurone disease and his family were overwelmed when their online and fund raising appeal reached its target of £30,000 to enable him to travel to Moscow for Stem Cell treatment
Scott Everett, 46, an HGV driver was told he had three months to live and would not see his two young daughters grow up.
The icing on the cake came when the last amount of £2.000 came from a couple in Walkern who were moved by the story online.
Also hitting the headlines was an 11-year old, partially sighted boy who gave an inspirational performance in the Hitchin Town Centre 5km race.
Oliver Murphy, was guided by his dad John with a tether for most of the race, but towards the ended Oliver sprinted to the end unaided in a truly inspiring truimph.
Another amazing sight to behold in North Herts was dogs enjoying ‘pawsecco’ at a pub in Graveley. The pub hosted a special event for the North Herts Pugs monthly meet. The George and Dragon owners Gilda and Jason Kingsbury love canines and have been offering a dog menu for three years.
Pooches enjoyed a menu of lamb and rice, chicken and rice, fish and potato gulped down with a special glass of ‘pawseccco’and dog beer while raising more than £100 for the Dog Welfare and Rescue Association.
Finally, belly dancers at The Howard Garden Social Day Centre shook things up at its open day. There were belly dancers classic cars and more at the weekend event. They raised more than £500 on the day which was hailed as a big success.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here