Horace’s fundraising honours his mum

A radio presenter helped raise £500 in memory of his mum, to benefit other cancer patients.

Horace Hotman, also known as Stephen Shrubb, held fundraising dinners at Da’s Thai Diner in Broadstairs, as well as holding raffles for passengers on his coach trips.

The first dinner took place on the day of his mum’s funeral two decades ago, and the most recent was a few days after the anniversary and helped add another £2,500 to his fundraising total. He is splitting the amount between local cancer charities, with £500 for East Kent Hospitals Charity to benefit the Viking Day Unit at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

Horace, who presents Horace’s Palace of Fun on Academy FM on Sunday afternoons, said: “My mum had fantastic care from the team at the Viking Day Unit and my dad is a current patient there and they are looking after him really well.

“It started because I wanted to do something in memory of my mum, and back then we were supporting the appeal to build the new unit, so it is fitting that we can again give something back to support the amazing staff there.”

Horace thanked Da, who runs the restaurant, and her staff Vinnie and Sam for their support, as well as his friends Lisa Shearer and Michele Seemann for helping with the raffles and prize donations.

He said: “I’d also like to thank everyone who comes on trips and comes to my dinner evenings. Without them we couldn't raise these amounts and help make a small difference to people locally.”