Justin Tomlinson MP officially opened a charity photo exhibition last Friday at the Orbital Shopping Park, with all of the proceeds going to the Brighter Futures Appeal.
The exhibition, which ran throughout the weekend, displayed and sold the work of local photographer Robin Allix-Page. Two years ago, Robin was diagnosed with prostate cancer and given a year to live. Since his diagnosis, he has spent the majority of his time fundraising for the Brighter Futures appeal to build a brand new radiotherapy centre in Swindon.
Robin met local resident Beth Davies, who also had experience of a close friend battling prostate cancer and having to travel to Oxford every day. She therefore decided to help Robin by organising an event so that he could sell his work to the public. She did so by emailing Justin, who helped to set up the display in the management suite directly below his office.
The event, supported British Land, has helped to raise £1,700 for the new radiotherapy unit at Great Western Hospital and Orbital Shopping Park has made an additional donation of £1,000.
Robin is a very talented photographer and has captured more than 800 of beautiful images both in and around Swindon. He has also produced various photo calendars which include ‘the best of Swindon’ and ‘celebrating Swindon’s green spaces’.
Justin, who bought a framed photo of Moulden Hill and a ‘best of Swindon’ calendar, said: “It was an honour to officially open this fantastic display of wonderful photographs showing the very best of Swindon and the surrounding areas. Robin Page the photographer is a real talent and his story of what inspired him to raise money for the Brighter Futures appeal is incredibly moving and inspiring. I also want to thank Beth for her hard work in organising this event and making it happen. Having a Radiotherapy Centre in Swindon is so important not just to those who have to go through the terrible ordeal of cancer, but also their family and friends, who currently have to drive all the way to Oxford and back each day. I have supported this project from the beginning including lobbying Government for their pot of funding – it has been truly fantastic to see how the local community has come together to help us reach the final target."
Jamie Turner, Centre Manager at the Orbital Shopping Park, said: “We really admire Robin’s work and his fundraising efforts, so we were more than happy to offer our management suite to host the exhibition, and were delighted to be able to make a donation to the appeal on behalf of all of the team here too.”
Lisa Utting, Donor Development Manager at Brighter Futures, said: “We thoroughly enjoyed working with Robin on his fabulous photographic exhibition at Orbital Shopping Park. Robin has raised lots of money towards our radiotherapy appeal which we are hugely thankful for.”
