Community comes together for Conor

Thousands of pounds are expected to have been raised following a fun day raising money for cancer charities in support of Snettisham teenager Conor Blake, 16.

A gloriously sunny bank holiday Sunday saw scores of people arrive at Ingoldisthorpe Social Club to watch Blake’s Eleven vs. The Fez of 92 play a charity football match, with the Fez’s coming out on top. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent listening to live music courtesy of the Ktones, quick cricket and bowls with support from Snettisham Cricket Club and Ingoldisthorpe Bowls Club respectively. Tombola, karaoke, zorbing and rifle shooting ensured there was a fun activity to suit all.

Conor’s mother, Christine Blake, said: “Conor wanted to have this day as a way of raising awareness and, if we could, a bit of money for our chosen charities (Clic Sargent, a children’s cancer charity, and MPN Voice).”

Myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) is an umbrella term for a group of rare blood cancers. Conor was diagnosed with the rare slow-growing blood cancer Polycythemia vera two years ago, causing his bone marrow to not function properly and produce too much blood, putting him at risk of strokes and blood clots.

“He’s had four small strokes and a few bleeds, and at that time friends, family and community were all there for us,” Christine continues. “So today is really bringing those people together and is a way of saying thank you to them. It made us realise how lucky we are to be a part of a fantastic community.”

“It all started with Conor having a bit of banter with some of the older lads in the village over football and we were going to have a charity football match and it’s just escalated from there! Today’s all about bringing people together on this glorious day.”

The day finished with a raffle and an auction, with a plethora of local businesses donating prizes: a weekend beach hut in Hunstanton, an 8ft trampoline, a wooden sandpit courtesy of Anglia Log Cabins and a fire and ice spa experience from Knights Hill were just a few of the amazing prizes up for grabs.

“We’ve been completely inundated with amazing prizes from businesses across Norfolk. There are some amazing raffle and auction prizes up for grabs,” Christine said.

The Blake family has set up a JustGiving page to fundraise for vital research into the disease which is still open to donations: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/christine-blake4.