Herd in the City
About Herd in the City
We’re delighted to inform you that this summer we are helping to support a very special charity called Havens Hospices from our home town (now a city) of Southend on Sea. Havens Hospices provides palliative and supportive care to adults and children living with complex or incurable conditions across Essex. Their specialist teams offer support for patients and their family throughout illness, death and bereavement in the comfort of their own home and also through their hospices, Fair Havens for adults in Southend and Little Havens for children in Benfleet.
Following the success of their Hares About Town trail in 2021, this year from the 14th July to 4th September a herd of 45 beautifully decorated elephants will be strategically positioned around Southend, Leigh on Sea and Shoeburyness. Each elephant has been purchased and sponsored by key local companies and we are proud to say that we are one of them.
The aim of the eye catching elephants is to create an outdoor art trail, encouraging adults and children to get out into the open air and to track down and find each member of the herd. The trail is free to follow, but you can help support Havens Hospices by purchasing a map, downloading their app or getting involved in the various fundraising events and activities which will be announced once the trail begins in July.
For our elephant we are again using the fantastic talent of local artist Neil Fendell. Neil has worked with us on a number of projects over the past few years but his ideas and skill in creating our elephant called ‘Never Forget’ is wonderful. ‘Never Forget’ is a play on elephants renowned memory, but also it’s a nod to our connection to music and entertainment and if you look carefully you’ll see that our own R1 radio has been skilfully incorporated into the design.
Of course the main aim of this special event is to raise money. Whether you live locally or are just visiting this page, anything you can give will be greatly appreciated so Havens Hospices can keep giving the ceaseless care for which they have become known. Soon after the event finishes on the 4th September, the elephants will then be put up for auction to raise further money. Rest assured we’ll be front of the queue bidding, to make sure that our elephant ends up in our hands, but you can bid too, so watch this space for more info later.
To find where our elephant will be located on the trail, along with the rest of the herd, check back here soon.
About the Artist
Neil Fendell is a local artist who is becoming increasingly sought after for his unique style. He creates beautiful contemporary art and in particular his posters featuring local landmarks have become very popular. We first got in contact with Neil to design the labels for our Christmas beers and cards, which our dealers enjoy. Neil was an obvious choice as we loved his style of art and the links he has with Southend. We have now worked with Neil on five different beer designs and have had the artwork he created turned into posters which we have on our walls at Ruark HQ.