HAVING caught the eye of many residents of Basingstoke and Deane and further afield, the Sitting with Jane BookBenches has got one of its sponsors calling all Janes to get in the running for a treat.

The Rotary Club of Basingstoke Deane is proud to be one of the sponsors of the unique public art BookBench project celebrating the life of world-famous author Jane Austen.

And with the club’s BookBench, called Jane Talk, created by artist Jenny Leonard, group members will be hosting a special event at their bench, located in Porchester Square in Festival Place, on Saturday, July 8, when they particularly want Janes – or Jaynes – to visit, and sit on their BookBench.

Basingstoke Deane Rotary Club president Lindy Richardson said: “The club is delighted to be one of the BookBench sponsors, and we are seeking to make the most of the sponsorship opportunity as well as involving the public as much as possible.

“We thought it would be a fun idea to invite anyone called Jane, or Jayne, to visit our lovely BookBench, and we will be asking them to register their name for an end-of-day draw. The winner of the draw will get afternoon tea for two at Tylney Hall, which has been generously donated by the hotel at Rotherwick.”

She added: “Throughout this special event, which will take place from 10am to 4pm on July 8, there will be people in costume around our BookBench, and they’ll be reading aloud from some of Jane Austen’s books.”

All girls and women called Jane, or Jayne, should bring proof of identity with them and then they will be able to register for the afternoon tea draw.

At the end of the summer, the Sitting with Jane BookBenches will be auctioned off to raise funds for the Ark Cancer Centre Charity. Mark Jones, director of fundraising and communications at the charity, said: “The charity is grateful to Basingstoke Deane Rotary Club and all the BookBench sponsors for their fantastic support, as this has been crucial to making Sitting with Jane happen.”