Actress and brother's bid to raise funds in memory

 

 An actress has been joined by friends and family in her bid to raise money for a terminal illness charity, after her husband was cared for at a Penarth hospice.

Ri Richards along with friends and family have set up Pete’s Flatbeer Fundraisers in memory of her late husband Pete Alner, a taxi driver for Dragon in Cardiff, to raise money for Marie Curie.

And she is hoping people will come out in force to support her brother Dewi,  who will be joined by a team of Rowers from Cardiff Metropolitan University,  for the group’s first fundraising challenge - Pete’s Flatbeer Flatout Rowing Challenge.

The group aims to row the distance of the Irish Sea between Fishguard and Rosslare, in the lead up to the Wales v Ireland match in Cardiff on March 10 in aid of Marie Curie.

Ri, best known for playing Moira Price in award-winning comedy Satellite City, decided to start fundraising for the charity, which provides round-the-clock care and support for people living with terminal illness and their families at its Cardiff and the Vale hospice, after her husband Pete died there in November.  He had been staying at the hospice for a month.

“The reason we’re doing this fundraising is because of the care and support not only that Pete received, but me too,” said Ri. 

“I felt that the care that we both got here was so generous and warm, they cared for both of us with such compassion and love at such a dreadful time, an extreme time.

 “Because it’s a charity and it is so reliant on donations, which is not how it should be at all, we feel we want to contribute something to the charity.

 “Pete was diagnosed with terminal cancer in early August and in October we received the devastating news that no treatment could be offered  ‑ and on top of that a prognosis that he had around three months to live,” said Ri.

 “I just couldn't believe what I was hearing, it was like a bomb going off inside me.  Pete was incredibly stoical; I went into shock I think.

 “There was so much information to take in and process, so many decisions to make ‑ and all this at a time when you are at your absolute weakest and most vulnerable. When things are extremely bleak and hopeless you really need strong people around you to advise you and to support you through the very, very worst time. “

 Now Ri  is being joined by brother Dewi, who is a personal trainer in Brighton, as well as fellow actresses Kerry Joy Stewart, Caroline Bunce and Ruth Lloyd and playwright and author Tom Wentworth in a bid to fundraise for the charity, which is currently marking its annual biggest fundraiser, the Great Daffodil Appeal.  They have all had family who have received care from Marie Curie.  The team is also joined by Marie Curie healthcare assistant Pamela Jones.

 As well as the Rowing Challenge, the group is also taking part in a Trek Snowdon challenge on June 11.

 Speaking about the care and support she has received since Pete’s death, Ri said: “I continue to come here every weekend or bereavement counselling and hypnotherapy.

“Sometimes it's very hard to walk through the door, as it's a very poignant place for me, but it is also full of warmth and compassion.

“It's a bright airy building ‑ it's so welcoming, really, which sounds like an odd thing to say about  a place that holds so much sadness.

“All kinds of people come here for all kinds of things  ‑ respite care, reflexology, pain management, counselling, aromatherapy massage, and of course , the wonderful Carer's Cafe where you drink tea and eat cakes with people in the same situation  - either carers or, like me, people who have recently lost someone they loved .

“A hospice is definitely not just a place where people die ‑ it's a place where the people they leave behind come back to life too.

“We started Pete's Flatbeer Fundraisers to try to raise as much money as we can in one year to support our local hospice.”

Ri said Pete loved rugby, and was a fanatical supporter of the Welsh team, while the pair also met at Henley Royal Regatta in 1984, so the event is “perfect” to kick off the year of fundraising.

“Pete's Flatbeer Flatout Rowing Challenge takes place at 12 noon, outside Hugo Boss on The Hayes in central Cardiff , when my brother Dewi  and a small team of Rowers will attempt to row across the Irish sea on a static rowing machine,” she said.

“Wales take on Ireland in the Six Nations championship that night so the atmosphere will be amazing.

“Our Flatbeer bucket-collectors will be shaking their buckets and selling lovely Marie Curie daffodils which are perfect for wearing to the match - so pop over and say hello if you happen to be in Cardiff on March 10^th,   wear your daff with pride! Come on Wales!”

You can find the group on Facebook, follow them on Twitter @petesflatbeer or help them fundraise by visiting www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Petes-Flatbeer-Fundraisers-2017  

Photos by Caitlin Richards