Million pound celebrations on menu for ladies who lunch

The Burghley Park and Peterborough Ladies have been raising money to support Cancer Research UK for the last 40 years - and now have passed the magical seven-figure mark.

Annette Beeton, chair of the society, said she was delighted with reaching the milestone, after receiving £14,600 from Milton Golf Club last week.

She said: “We received the cheque last Friday from Milton Golf Club. I was stunned when I realised it had taken us over the million pound mark.

“I just kept saying ‘we have done it, we have done it.”

The lunch club was started in 1974, and Annette has now been chair for 22 years.

She said: “We have had a great time along the way, lots of lunches, lots of laughs and a few headaches.

“All the money we have raised has gone to Cancer Research. We have been down to the Lab at Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge a few times to see how the money we have raised has been spent, which is incredible. It is so inspiring to see what can be done.

“The staff there are so dedicated, and the work they do is so complex. You can’t believe what they can do now.”

Annette has her own personal reasons for supporting the charity - after her husband, Dr Bob Beeton, a former medical officer at Peterborough United, beat cancer.

She said: “My husband had bowel cancer 21 years ago, but he survived.

“I started nursing in 1960, and I was on a children’s ward. At the time children with leukaemia would choose a nurse - and three chose me. Those children were remarkable - I learnt so much from them.”

The group now have a series of other events taking place in Peterborough this year to mark their 45th anniversary.