On Tuesday, July 30th The Worshipful Company of Glovers of London will be doing something they believe is a first for a Livery Company! At least a dozen men and women from the Glovers and other Livery companies will be taking to the skies with the Mistress Glover’s Flying Circus to raise £50,000 for charity. One of the remarkable things about the endeavour is the age span of the walkers, with a number being in their 70s and the oldest being 80!
The Glovers’ team comprises Catherine, Mistress Glover, Simon Somerville, Susanna Morriss, Roddy Morriss, Sonja Garsvo and Hilary Spencer. Additionally we have Carmen, Insurers, Stationers, Water Conservationists, Painter Stainers and Glass Sellers all flying in support of our Charity. Needless to say this has captured the imagination of the Livery as a whole!
These brave – or foolish – Liverymen will be wing walking to raise funds for The Glovers’ Charitable Trust that supports providing bionic arms and prosthetics to children with significant upper limb differences.
Children like Safiyah (left) and Kaden (right) who have recently received their new super-cool Spiderman Bionic Arms. Safiyah, 8, wanted to be more independent and to do activities with both hands. The first thing she did with her new arm was to go for a bike ride and loved that her arm matched the colours on her bike!
Safiyah said:
“I wanted a Hero Arm so I can hold things with both hands as sometimes I drop things. I use it for lots of things, taking my pencils out, my books, carrying my bag and I play cello with it!”
Kaden, 9, wanted the Hero Arm so he could do two-handed activities with confidence. His Mum said:
“At the moment when he rides his bike, he falls off quite a bit, gets scratches and bruises, so this will make a big difference in things he can do.”
The Glovers Company has been raising funds for prosthetics and bionic arms since 2018. Catherine Grimley, Mistress Glover, picked up the challenge to raise more funds for this important venture by deciding not only to wing walk (which she has done before) but to go one step further and perform three aerobatic manoeuvres, a loop the loop, a barrel roll and a stall, all whilst strapped onto the top of a bi-plane, flying at up to 150 miles an hour and reaching up to 3000 feet. On asking other Glovers to support her, she found some more hardy souls to join in and then members of other liveries did too – and Mistress Glover’s Flying Circus was born.
Catherine said:
“My husband, Clive, the Master Glover, gave me the inspiration after he had met a number of the children who had received their customised bionic arms and saw their real delight in being able to do things differently. I was determined to do something to support this extraordinary cause. I am grateful for the support and encouragement from not only our wonderful Glovers but from the Livery movement too, who have wholeheartedly joined in.”
To find out more, you can visit the Glovers Flying Circus Just Giving page.
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