In the final part of our year in review, we look at the last three months of the year.

OCTOBER

October saw a family make an urgent appeal for help bring George Gannon home.

The 29-year-old was diagnosed with a brain tumour thousands of miles from home.

On the morning of Tuesday, 25 September, George, originally from Old Basing, awoke unable to speak or move his legs in his home in Thailand.

He was rushed to Koh Samui hospital, where he was diagnosed with a malignant frontal lobe tumour on the left side of his brain.

He had a first operation which has removed the main tumour in his brain. However, several smaller tumours have been discovered on his brain, which will require further treatment.

His family made an appeal to raise £25,000 to get him home, and generous donations were able to collect that amount in two weeks, seeing him return to England safely.

October also saw a new course record set at the annual Basingstoke Half-Marathon.

Now in its eighth year, the usual course was reversed this time around, so a new record was always going to be set, but winner Tom Aldred did in fact come close to the overall 1hr 4mins benchmark, finishing in a time of 1hr 9mins and 38 seconds.

At the finish line, he said: “It was very, very hilly! But it is a beautiful course. I’m delighted to win and it was good preparation for doing the Dublin Marathon in a few weeks.”

Overall, 956 people finished the race with scores raising money for charities.

There was controversy in October as Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council announced it would be closing its mixed plastic ‘bring banks’.

The reason for the closure was cited as a “drop in the market” for recycling mixed plastics such as tubs, pots and trays.

However, critics said that the move was irresponsible of the borough council to take, with a petition set up calling for the decision to be reversed.

A social media post went viral in October as people attempted to hunt down a kind-hearted cabbie.

Anne Barlow took a black cab from Basingstoke railway station to her Gabriel Park home and her conversation with her driver turned to the work she does for Schnauzerfest, a nationwide fundraising collection of walks with schnauzers.

When Anne arrived at her destination, the driver waived her £11 fare and said to make sure the money goes to her charity instead.

Anne, who works in The City of London, said: “He was such a nice guy. It really touched me as it is those small things that make you believe in people. That £11 may not sound a lot but to a small charity it makes a difference.”

The driver was later identified as a man named Peter West.

After a huge £5.4 million project to save the roof of the old Tudor mansion The Vyne, the historic building fully re-opened in October.

The Vyne, in Sherborne St John, underwent extensive restoration work on its roof after heavy storm damage revealed leaks and severe problems with the chimneys.

After funds were raised by the owners of the site the National Trust, the Tudor site, which was visited by the likes of Henry VIII and Jane Austen, had its first major restoration since 1842.

Now spaces previously closed off to visitors have been opened up to host a snapshot of The Vyne’s huge roof project. Against a backdrop of construction sights and sounds, visitors can watch bird’s-eye-view drone footage and learn how more than 3,000 precious items were protected in the house.

NOVEMBER

TV CHEF Simon Rimmer cooked up a feast for guests at Festival Place as the popular Eat Street event returned in November.

The Sunday Brunch host rustled up grilled pork chops with cannellini beans, cabbage and bacon followed by a stout cake with peanut butter frosting, followed by taking questions from the audience.

Prior to the demonstrations, the chef told The Gazette: “One of the big things that people say is they don’t have the time to cook properly. I want to show people it doesn’t take long to cook good food. That’s what we do with Sunday Brunch.”

A family business that was under threat of closure was given a new lease of life after being relocated into Basingstoke town centre.

As previously reported in The Gazette, the Patel family, who had run the Premier News store, in Basing View, were under threat of closure due to redevelopments in Basing View.

However, after the community rallied around with an avalanche of support for the family, and following in-depth talks with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, the family was relocated into a new store in Church Street, the Top of The Town.

The new store is named after Mrs Patel, with the name meaning sunshine, or light.

Kishor Patel told The Gazette: “We are delighted to have a new home. The support we have received from the community to get us here has been incredible.”

November also saw a young runner mark a special birthday with a milestone event.

For most 10-year-olds, celebrating their birthday consists of a big party with friends and family.

However, for Callum Savings it was all about marking a milestone birthday with a milestone event as he competed in his 100th park run in the War Memorial Park.

Having been participating in the races since he was five-year-old, to mark his 10th birthday, he along with a group of friends and family dressed as superheroes to complete the run.

On average, Callum can finish the run in 25 minutes, but for this landmark run he was the last of this group to cross the finish line.

A family made an emotional appeal to the community in November to help raise £203,000 for their five-year-old son to get life-changing treatment.

The Warner family of Farriers Close, Bramley, is fundraising to send their son Oliver to Barcelona to receive treatment which is not available on the NHS.

Oliver was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma – a type of cancer that forms in certain types of nerve tissue - in 2016 a few weeks before his third birthday, after falling ill at the end of 2015.

Even though Oliver is responding well to his second course of chemo, the family is looking at further treatments to get rid of any traces of the disease.

Mrs Warner said: “The treatment Oliver would be getting in Barcelona is an antibody, which means that it can target a certain part of the cancerous cells, whereas chemotherapy just kills everything and has more long-lasting side effects.

“From what we know, this treatment would get rid of any remaining cells in Oliver’s body which may not show up in scans.”

To date, more than £100,000 has been raised for the campaign.

November also signified a landmark moment for a Basingstoke charity as it passed the £2million milestone.

The Arkriders have raised more than £215,000 for the Ark Cancer Centre Charity’s appeal which will help to fund a new NHS cancer treatment centre at Basingstoke hospital and this week, their latest donation took the running total past £2million.

In the last three years, the cycling fundraisers have piled on the pedal power in a series of challenges.

This year, a major fundraising feat saw some of the Arkriders organise a charity dinner called Une Grande Nuit, in partnership with the Apollo Hotel, in September – and the £30,280 raised at that event has now taken Ark’s running total to over £2m.

DECEMBER

IN DECEMBER, a volunteer was recognised as a result of many years of dedication.

John Smith has been with the Basingstoke branch of the charity Headway for more than 20 years, and on December 7, he was given the Stephen McAleese Outstanding Contribution to Headway Award.

The award was given to John after his diligent service. He first became aware of the brain injury charity as a part of a corporate volunteering day, but then stayed on to continue to help.

John said: “It is a privilege to have worked with them for so long, it’s been an honour and a great place to be.”

A host of Santas and their helper elves battled through torrential rain to play a festive game of football for charity.

The match, organised by Oakley Football Club, was held to remember 18-year-old Ben Wilson, from Overton, who died in a car crash on the A33 in September this year.

Despite the weather, the community came together to remember the former Basingstoke College of Technology student and in the process, managed to raise £3,000 for St John Ambulance.

The year ended with a wrestling being given an early Christmas present that he will never forget.

Thomas Davis, 29, who has Downs Syndrome and a mild to moderate learning disability, was visited by his favourite grappler ‘Ruthless’ Rob Holte, who gave him a ‘one-of-a-kind’ gift as an early Christmas present.