A York couple have made a golden contribution to our Hospice 2000 Appeal.

When Ken and Alice King planned their golden wedding they asked their guests to give donations to our Hospice 2000 Appeal in lieu of presents.

Unbeknown to them, their daughter, Amanda, arranged a little surprise for them - hospice volunteer fundraiser Cyril Reynolds was asked to come to the party at the Holgate Hill Hotel and receive the cheque for £555 from the happy couple.

Ken and Alice, both originally from London, have lived in Acomb for about 25 years.

Their special celebration was attended by friends and family from York and around the UK.

Amanda said: "My parents have supported the hospice for many years and they wanted to use their special celebration to help St Leonard's."

Cyril said: "I would like to thank Ken and Alice, and their family and friends for thinking of St Leonard's at such a special time.

"Our appeal total is creeping up and we know that when we reach our target this will be a golden moment for St Leonard's as well."

The hospice Buy A Brick campaign continues to go from strength to strength, reaching a total of £16,905 earlier this month.

Of that sum £480 came in over two days, following a feature on the scheme in the Evening Press on January 30.

So, just to remind everyone, if you want to buy a piece of the much-needed hospice annexe and haven't done so already, you can buy a brick at £5 a time.

You should send cheques payable to St Leonard's Hospice to the hospice fundraising centre, 14 York Road, Acomb, York, YO24 4LU.

End of year champagne celebrations at Bar 38 in York clocked up more than £300 for the St Leonard's Millennium Appeal.

The bar teamed up with Mumm Champagne and pledged to donate £5 for every bottle sold between November 30 and December 30 last year.

Customers happily quaffed 60 bottles of bubbly.

Updated: 15:49 Friday, February 16, 2001