There will be a Memorial Service for Charlene Downes on her 23rd birthday, Sunday the 25th of March, 11 am, at the Rose Garden, Carleton Crematorium & Cemetery, Stocks Road, Poulton-le-Fylde (near Blackpool), Lancashire FY6 7QS

The service will be a celebration of Charlene’s young life, which tragically ended on or about the 1st of November 2003. The service will be prepared and conducted by the Reverend Robert West and will take place at 11am in the gardens of the cemetery, and will conclude at around 12 noon. We hope the weather will be fine, but it’s best to bring an umbrella, just in case.

An Order of Service has been produced by Revd West and Cllr Cathy Duffy, and a limited number of copies will be available for those attending the service. Please let us know if you intend to join us, as we will need an idea of the numbers expected.

This will be a very respectful occasion and we will be providing a plaque / tablet in the Rose Garden in remembrance of Charlene, so that her family will have a focal point for Charlene. Also, Charlene’s Memorial bench, at Stanley Park, is being transferred to the Rose Garden at the cemetery.

We have told Mr & Mrs Downes that we will raise a collection to provide for the costs involved in this, which amounts to around £500. Cllr Chris Vanns and Dot Sayers our Organisers for Burnley and Bolton are providing the flowers. Therefore, instead of bringing flowers, if anyone would like to make a donation to the Charlene Downes Appeal, please contact 0844 809 4581 and make your donation. The money raised will go towards the above costs, and anything left over will be passed to Mr & Mrs Downes.

We hope that many of you will be able to join us on Sunday 25th, to pay our respects to Charlene and to remind the Establishment that our children are worth much more than they seem to believe.

Our thanks go to Cllr Chris Vanns for coming up with this thoughtful tribute to Charlene, and for the flowers, along with Dot Sayers, both of whom also provided the flowers for our previous tribute to Charlene. And, we would like to thank Cllr Derek Dawson for all of his work on behalf of the Downes family, and Cllr Cathy Duffy, who has produced a lovely Order of Service; and finally, Revd Robert West, for volunteering to travel such a long way to prepare and conduct this Memorial to Charlene.

Karen & Robert Downes and family, have asked us to thank everyone who has supported their family.

The address for the service is;

Carleton Crematorium & Cemetery
Stocks Road
Poulton-le-Fylde (near Blackpool)
Lancashire FY6 7QS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carleton_Crematorium_and_Cemetery#Carleton_crematorium


Map
http://www.ilancashire.co.uk/profile/80912/Poulton-le-Fylde/Carleton-Crematorium-and-Cemetery/