22nd May 2006

Hook Norton stands out as a beacon

Hook Norton has been nominated in the Banbury Guardian Community Project of the Year for giving inspiration it has given to locals in supporting Leukaemia Research. The brewery has supported the charity for more than 20 years after director James Clarke lost his sister to the disease in 1986, when she was 12.

Last December the village’s efforts, totalling more than £150,000, led to a research grant being named the Hook Norton Fellowship. But Mr Clarke said the company’s fundraising efforts would not have been possible without the support from the rest of the village. He said: We are really pleased to have been nominated. “We have been raising money for Leukaemia Research since 1984 when my sister was diagnosed. “Although it has been 20 years since Victoria passed away the fundraising has carried on and I guess the brewery has been a focal point for that. “The fact that fund raising has continued is great and shows what a wonderful community this is, and what great friends we have.

The £168,000 research grant was given to Oxford-based doctor Graham Collins by Leukaemia Research to try and develop a better understanding of DNA abnormalities in cancerous cells.