There was no weakest link at a recent charity quiz night held in aid of Manx Cancer Help, which raised a fantastic ?5,000.

More than 120 people attended the event, which took place at The Outback and sold out weeks in advance. The organiser of the quiz, Hannah Christie, said: ‘My mum sadly lost her long battle with cancer in July this year. I found it immensely difficult to cope with the knowledge that mum was very ill and, eventually, that she was dying. However, my family and I were not able to talk about it publicly, as mum didn't want anyone to know about or acknowledge her illness.

‘I wanted so much to have the opportunity to talk things through with my mum, but we had to respect her wishes. I was struggling to find anyone that could help me, but heard that Manx Cancer Help supports families of people with cancer as well as patients themselves. The charity has helped me so much and I wanted to raise funds to help support the incredible services it offers.’

Named the ‘Look for Me in Rainbows’ quiz night, in tribute to the song played at Hannah’s mother’s funeral, the event was organised on what would have been her 65th birthday. Local businesses donated more than 40 fabulous auction prizes for the night, and more than 25 teams took part in the quiz, including many of Hannah’s friends, colleagues, and friends of her mother.

Hannah added: ‘The quiz night raised an astonishing ?3,776, which my dad added to in order to make it ?4,000, and through further donations we now have a grand total of ?5,000. I would like to thank all of the companies that donated so many brilliant auction prizes and food for the event, and of course everyone that attended and helped to raise funds for Manx Cancer Help. I also want to say a big thank you to Dave Ashford, quizmaster for the night, and the staff at The Outback for making it such a memorable event. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my dad; he has been my rock, my best friend and my delivery man. I know that mum would be so proud of him, and I am very lucky to be his daughter.’

Andrea Chambers, Chief Executive Officer of Manx Cancer Help, said: ‘We are so grateful to Hannah for organising this event; she worked tirelessly to pull this all together and to raise ?5,000 is just amazing! All money raised for Manx Cancer Help stays in the Isle of Man and helps local people by providing practical, emotional and psychological support to those affected by cancer. Our free and confidential services are available not just to those with a cancer diagnosis, but to carers, families and friends who may also be affected.’

Photo - (L-R) Peter Christie, Gareth Nicholson (Fundraising Events Co-ordinator at Manx Cancer Help), Hannah Christie.