It’s almost unimaginable to ponder the chaos that would ensue if your child were diagnosed with a terminal illness, or injured in an accident and rushed to hospital.
Have you any money to park the car, how can you get a message to school to sort out your other child, can anyone help with a lift share to get your child to hospital for crucial treatment? These are just a few of the headaches that Maggie Mickshik understands, all too well.
Her daughter Martha was diagnosed with a brain tumour before her first birthday and endured many operations and spent a great deal of time in the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Martha lost her brave battle to live aged seven in 2006, whereupon Maggie set up Martha Care, a charity dedicated to helping families who find themselves in the same boat.
Bobby, a Martha Care Support Worker, is now based in the BRHC providing a diverse range of support on countless issues and over the past 18 months, she has been a lifeline for almost 170 families.
365 Silly Jokes for Kids was created by Maggie’s friend, Lyme Regis author Tracey West, as an urgent fundraiser to ensure Martha Care continues to provide the service which costs around £40k pa. If things go well, they hope to extend it to other hospitals.
Comedian and actor Ben Langley is proud patron of Martha Care and penned a wonderful foreword. He said, ‘Martha was incredible and she made me dizzy bombarding me with daft jokes. Thanks to anyone that supports the cause by buying the book and showing laughter is indeed a great medicine’.
The book contains hundreds of super silly jokes, many of which you’ll recognise from your own childhood and two secret messages hidden within, wonderfully embellished with funky images drawn by Simon West, creator of Magic Oxygen Publishing in Lyme Regis.
Simon explained, ‘Martha loved jokes, this is a fitting celebration of her life, the things she adored and a great cause. Please let us know if you’d like to stock it’.
365 Silly Jokes for Kids is available from Serendip in Lyme Regis and many other good book vendors and also from local libraries.
Paperback £6.99 : ISBN 9781910094051
Tracey West
