We’ve come to the end of a busy summer events season at St Catherine’s Hospice – which was blessed with sunshine on occasion, and blighted by rain on others.

As usual, the weather has been a mixed bag for Lancashire these last couple of months, but one thing that has been dependable as always, is the dedication and commitment of our supporters, volunteers and staff.

People pulled out all the stops to make our varied events calendar a success – from the women who waded through giant puddles in their posh frocks and heels the night the heavens opened during our ‘summer’ ball, to the wonderful volunteers and supporters who stayed up until the early hours to join in the 10^th anniversary of our special Moonlight and Memories Walk.

Thankfully, it stayed dry that night, and most of our other events weren’t deterred by the rain as they were held in our large garden marquee, which kept out the cold and windy weather for occasions such as Bollywood Night and Ascot Ladies’ Day.

Sadly though, our flagship fundraiser, Symphony at the Tower, took the biggest blow. Two of the three concerts planned for Hoghton Tower had to be cancelled after the downpours made the site unsafe for visitors. As much as we were so looking forward to welcoming the community to enjoy the talents of Pop Idol Will Young and Lancashire’s own Symphony Idols – not to mention the vital funds which the event would have generated for the charity – cancellation was unavoidable.

But it’s challenging times like this which, whilst regrettable, show the real spirit of a community. We were really humbled by people’s words of encouragement that weekend; our community were still behind us and understood what a blow it was for everyone who had worked so hard to plan for the weekend.

And it was the dedication of those who care so deeply for the hospice which made it possible to relocate Joe Bonamassa’s Saturday night show to the Guild Hall in Preston; an amazing achievement at such short notice and all thanks to the hard work and sheer determination of hundreds of people, from event promoters Cuffe & Taylor and Joe Bonamassa’s team, to the staff at the Guild Hall and our army of valued staff and volunteers.

In an email sent to St Catherine’s staff from chief executive Stephen Greenhalgh the following Monday, he acknowledged that it was ‘desperately disappointing’ that we’d had to cancel two shows, because “the benefit of around 10,000 people going away having had a great time at St Catherine’s concerts is so important to us for profile, reputation and income”.

But he added:  “Under the circumstances, we have done brilliantly well.  Communication and team spirit have been outstanding with everyone pulling together, including the massive challenge of relocating the Joe Bonamassa gig successfully into the Guild Hall.

“Thank you so much to everybody for being terrific examples of what St Catherine’s is all about – dedicated, committed and passionate about those whom we serve.”

• Kay Taylor works in the communications team at St Catherine’s Hospice.