Coffee mornings raise smiles and vital cash just my cup of tea HUNDREDS of people across West Dorset have raised a cuppa for charity.

As reported in the Echo, Friday was the annual Macmillan Coffee Morning – but there was still plenty of tea and cake this weekend.

Residents in the Park District of Weymouth gathered for some tasty treats on Saturday morning.

Genny Burchill, who organised the event, said she was overwhelmed with the response from the local community.

She said more cakes than ever before had been donated to the annual event at the Park District Community Centre.

“I can’t believe how many people have come in,” said Genny.

“It’s gone very well. I don’t think we have ever had so many people. And people have been so generous. People I didn’t even recognise have brought in cakes to sell.”

This is the fourth year a Macmillan Coffee Morning has been held at the centre and Genny said the amount of money raised has gone up and up each year.

“Last year we raised £128, so this year we are hoping it will be £150, that would be wonderful.”

Residents at Oaklands Park in Crossways raised more than £300.

They held their coffee morning in memory of the former residents’ association secretary, who died earlier this year.

Nicola Turner and Victoria Ford from Queen Charlotte care home in Weymouth held a coffee afternoon and raffle and raised £120 for Macmillan.

They thanked local shops and businesses who donated prizes.

And staff at Battens Solicitors in Dorchester went head-to-head with their Sherborne colleagues for a bake-off.

Together, the two offices raised more than £432 on the day and final donations are expected to top the £450 mark.

Sarah Ford, a residential property solicitor in Dorchester, said: “We thought this was a great campaign. “We had a fantastic morning and it was great to see so many people supporting our event.”