Caption: End of the tour - Pictured outside Ty Hafan, the Children's Hospice of Wales with the Big Red Tractor are a few of the children currently staying at the hospice with, from left to right, John Maitland Evans, chief executive of Vale of Glamorgan County Council, Rob Rees, NFU Cymru County Chairman, Dai Davies, Vice President of NFU Cymru, Arfon Haines Davies of ITV Wales who drove the tractor down to the hospice, Pam Dodds from Ty Hafan, Chris Hopkins from Ted Hopkins Massey Ferguson dealership who supplied the tractor, Sarah Jones from NFU Cymru and Rob Taylor from Ty Hafan.
Did you catch sight of NFU Cymru's Big Red Tractor as it was driven across Wales to raise funds for the children's hospice, Ty Hafan, last week? Everyone was being encouraged to guess the mileage the Massey Ferguson tractor would do as it travelled down from the NFU Cymru President's farm on Anglesey to the hospice just outside Cardiff.
During the week the tractor stopped at many locations including Betws y Coed, Corwen, Aberystwyth, Aberaeron, Llanarth Primary School, Llwynhelyg Farm Shop in Sarnau, Fishguard, St Clears, Carmarthen, Somerfield in Gorseinon, Llandeilo, Llandovery, Brecon town centre and Ysgol Y Bannau, Abergavenny and Usk. It reached its destination of Ty Hafan, in Sully, Vale of Glamorgan yesterday, Sunday, 18 September to mark the start of National Children's Hospice Week.
The tractor was driven down through Wales by a variety of celebrities including Hywel James and Arfon Haines Davies of ITV Wales, NFU Cymru members and staff.
Sarah Jones, NFU Cymru Public Relations Officer said, "I would like to thank absolutely everyone for helping in the organisation, driving, fundraising, providing refreshments and diesel and especially those who gave donations. The tour was a great success, we haven't got a final total of how much we've raised yet but it will be well over £8,000." [More follows...] Massey Ferguson, famous for its red tractors, kindly sponsored the event by donating a tractor to do the tour as well as providing a children's pedal tractor for the prize. The tractor doing the tour was kindly provided by the Ted Hopkins dealership. NFU Mutual kindly agreed to insure the tractor during its tour and provided £200 for the diesel used.
