The Birdshot Uveitis Society sponsored by the John F Hunt Group and supported by Vision Express raised a £60,000 at its 5th annual clay pigeon shoot, held at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School on the 8th June.
Having become known as the ‘go-to’ event in the London Construction calendar due to the number of high profile names in the property and construction sectors, this splendid day was at its full capacity of 100 guns. Commencing with registration and breakfast, the teams comprising of both experts and novices spent a glorious, if slightly damp day shooting in the valley. This concluded with a champagne reception, a three course lunch, the auction orchestrated by Lord Jeffrey Archer, prize giving and finally the raffle.
John Hall, Director of Birdshot and an avid shot for most of his life was diagnosed with Birdshot in 2000. This rare, potentially blinding eye disease, with many symptoms such as floaters, blurred vision, night blindness and sensitivity to bright light, leads to gradual, painless loss of vision. Birdshot is an Autoimmune Disease, the cause of which is unknown and as yet there is no cure. Treatment to slow the process of sight loss involves aggressive medication with debilitating and sometimes devastating side effects, hence the need to raise vital funds for research.
The name ‘Birdshot’ comes from the spots on the Retina resembling the pattern seen when you fire lead pellets from a shotgun, find out more at – https://birdshot.org.uk/
We would like to give a huge thank you to all those guns that attended the event, to those who generously gave auction prizes, those that donated money on the day and to Dylan, Katie and the team at the Royal Berkshire who helped us put the day together.