OUR appeal to raise £100,000 for Julia's House hit all the right notes on Saturday evening when Devizes Lions staged a 1940s themed evening.

More than 250 tickets were sold for the event at the Corn Exchange and it raised £3,000 towards our appeal to pay for carers for families in Wiltshire with children with life-limiting conditions.

The DS Big Band provided the music while The Invitation Theatre Company sang songs from the war-time era.

Lion John Nichols, who organised the evening, was delighted with its success. He said: "It went very, very well. It took a lot of work to bring together but it was worth it in the end.

"We choose a different charity to support from the spring concert every year and this year we decided on Julia's House mainly because of the Gazette's appeal.

"We have had the DS band in the past and once again they were fantastic."

Most of the money came from ticket sales but fundraising was also boosted by a raffle which included two top prizes of a case of fine wine and a hamper donated by Wadworth.

Among those attending the evening was Alison Radevsky chairman of the Devizes friends group for Julia's House. She said: "It was a fantastic evening and a wonderful amount was raised."

One of the next events in the Julia's House calendar is a golf day the charity is hosting at Marlborough Golf Club on May 20. It needs team of four to sign up for the event at a price of £240 which includes bacon roll and coffee on arrival, 18 holes of golf, course competitions, a two-course meal, plus a raffle and auction.

For further information or to enter a team, email liz.froud@juliashouse.org or call 01980 677105.

The charity now has planning permission for its second children's hospice which it hopes to open in Devizes next year. The Gazette is hoping to raise £100,000 as part our 200th anniversary celebrations.