A recent Race Night organised by Usk Rot ary Club raised £1,400 for the Noah's Ark Appeal. Around 80 people attended the evening at Usk Conservative Club, enjoying a supper of chicken and chips and the chance to win "a little" the odds having being calculated by Rotary President Gareth Williams, a retired banker, so nobody was expecting very much!

The funds raised included nearly £4 00 from a raffle, where the first prize was 30 Lucky Dip' Lotto lines. Mr. Williams said, "Unfortunately, with only one of the numbers subsequently coming up, the recipients of the other prizes actually had a better deal!"

The cheque for £1,400 was presented by Mr Williams to local businessman Eddie Hayward who is also a Noah's Ark Appeal Trustee, at a Rotary meeting and lunch at the Glan-Yr-Afon Hotel.

The Noah's Ark Appeal has already raised £11 million to establish the Children's Hospital for Wales but now has a further target of £4 million for building works and equipment. This will include a special scanner designed for children, which will be only the second in Europe.

The Rotary meeting was told that the wor k of the Noah's Ark Appeal is vital for the existence of the Children's Hospital, as there has been very little funding either from the Welsh Assembly or central government.