COMEDIAN Barry Cryer had golfers digging deep into their pockets when he gave the after-dinner speech at a charity day at Sandy Lodge Golf Club in Moor Park

Hatch End resident Barry is patron of Michael Sobell House, the cancer hospice at Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood which benefitted by £11,500 from the event.

The money was raised by golfers guessing the number of lost balls, betting on the nearest shot to the pin, and making generous donations at the after-dinner auction. One of the organisers, club member David Brameld, said the result had far exceeded expectations. Unfortunately, no one could muster the luck needed to claim the £20,000 Mercedes car on offer as a prize for scoring a hole in one.

David said: "It went very very well. The amount raised was absolutely fantastic. The weather was great and Barry Cryer was exceptional. He was absolutely brilliant, he had people rolling about."

The event marked the silver anniversary of Michael Sobell House, which is funded by the Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund and offers palliative care to terminally ill patients.

July 11, 2002 17:00