Lymington Quiz Night
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Gift of Sight Quiz at Lymington Town Sailing Club last week. It was wonderful to spend the evening in such a lovely venue and to meet so many brilliant quizzers! Congratulations to the winning team “All the Fish”!
Special thanks to Neil from Specsavers, who did a sterling job as Quizmaster and helped make the evening such an enjoyable success. And thank you to our raffle donors: 820 Spirits, Flapjackery, Pig Beer, Setley Ridge Farm Shop, Cook – Lymington and Specsavers Lymington.
Clarendon Marathon
Congratulations to Professor Andrew Lotery and his Highfield relay team, who completed the 2026 Clarendon Marathon in 3 hours 39 minutes, beating last year’s time by 8 minutes.
The team set themselves the challenge of finishing in under four hours and comfortably exceeded their goal, despite the unseasonably warm conditions. Professor Lotery completed his leg of the relay in an impressive 49 minutes!
Thank you to everyone who has supported their efforts so far. Team Highfield’s JustGiving page
Jersey Marathon
Clinical Research Fellow, Dr Alex Tanner, completed his first-ever marathon on 4 October in Jersey.
Alex crossed the finish line in 4 hours 28 minutes, while raising vital funds for Gift of Sight.
Alex said:
“Alongside my clinical work as an ophthalmologist, I am deeply passionate about eye research and proudly work with the Vision Sciences Laboratory here in Southampton. Our research is made possible by the incredible support of Gift of Sight, and I am fundraising to help drive vital breakthroughs in vision science. Any support you can give would mean the world.” Thank you to Alex for taking on this challenge and helping to advance sight-saving research. Alex’s JustGiving page
Thames Bridges Trek
Nicholas Davidson completed the 25km Thames Bridges Trek this weekend in support of Gift of Sight.
Along the way, 75 year old Nicholas enjoyed some of London’s most iconic landmarks, including the Millennium Bridge and the rare sight of Tower Bridge opening to let a yacht through. In his own words, it was “a very cheerful day”.
Thanks to the generosity of his sponsors, Nicholas has raised over £4,000 to help fund sight-saving vision research at the University of Southampton. Thank you, Nicholas, and everyone who has supported him. Nicholas’ JustGiving page
London to Brighton Cycle Ride
Kristina, Tegan and Dan took on the huge 55-mile cycle ride from London to Brighton to raise funds and awareness for both Gift of Sight and the Albinism Fellowship. It was an incredible challenge, particularly as Kristina rode the entire route as a visually impaired cyclist on the back of a tandem, with her friend Tegan, as her pilot. Research orthoptist Dan Osborne also cycled alongside the duo. Thank you to everyone who supported the team.
Happy 105th birthday
We were thrilled to attend the 105th birthday party of a very special supporter, Pat. It was wonderful to see so many of her friends and family, as well as the Mayor of Winchester, celebrating this very special occasion with her.
Thank you to everyone who gave donations in lieu of gifts. And congratulations Pat, thank you for brightening our world!
Cathy’s Fight for Gift of Sight
On 4th July, Cathy Murphy entered the boxing ring for the first time to raise funds for vital eye research.
As a Clinical Research Nurse in Ophthalmology at Southampton Eye Unit, she sees first-hand how important the research is. So she pushed herself out of her comfort zone to support that work in a completely new way.
We’re so grateful to Cathy for taking on this incredible challenge. Cathy’s JustGiving page
Little Court Garden Party 2026
Well, the rain didn’t stop play! Thank you to everyone who joined us at our garden party. Despite the threatening clouds, the weather held and Little Court made a spectacular setting for a lovely gathering.
A heartfelt thank you to Mrs Patricia Elkington, who so generously hosted the event in her beautiful garden.
And thank you to our raffle donors, who helped make the evening a success, including: Louis Pommery Estate, Leckford Farm Shop, and Chalk Stream Trout. We truly appreciate your support.
7 mountains, 3 events, £1500
Michael climbed 7 mountains across Wales and England and organised 3 darts events, raising an amazing £1,500 for albinism research through Gift of Sight.
Inspired by his friend’s daughter, little Gracie, Michael took on this challenge alongside her family and friends to help raise both awareness and vital funds to support research into conditions affecting people with albinism.
Thank you for your determination and support and to everyone involved in these amazing events
4 x 4 x 48 Challenge
Michael Hiden completed the incredible 4x4x48 challenge for Gift of Sight – running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours.
In his story, he shares that his partner, Jenny, has been through 18 eye procedures in just over two years and faces losing her sight before the age of 35. Michael has seen how devastating sight loss can be, and how helpless it feels to watch it happen to someone you love.
He chose to support Gift of Sight because Jenny works alongside some of our researchers at Southampton and has seen how vital their work is and how much they rely on funding to continue their sight-saving research.
He said he finished the challenge “literally held together by tape” but despite injuries he says it was absolutely worth it – although next time he might choose something “more chill – like a marathon!” Thank you Michael and everyone who supported him! Michael’s JustGiving Page
Sonn & Schild – Bach with Brass
What a way to start February! We had the most wonderful concert in Winchester with Bach Winchester Voices and Orchestra performing Sonn & Schild Bach with Brass.
A huge thank you to Jon Newman, Andrew Hayman, and all the incredible musicians for creating such exceptional music.
And thank you to everyone who came along, supported the event, and donated so generously to our sight‑saving research. It was such a special evening.
Bake Sale at University Hospital Southampton
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Gift of Sight Bonfire Night Bake Sale at University Hospital Southampton.
It was lovely to meet so many supportive staff and patients – and raise vital funds for eye research through cake!
Vickie’s Quiz Night
Huge thanks to Vickie Lush for organising such a brilliant event – from the delicious hotdogs and cakes to the clever questions, excellent quizmasters and fantastic prizes – everything was spot on. We’re so grateful for the amazing support and to everyone who came along and raised over £2500! Just incredible, thank you.
Clarendon Marathon 2025
Professor Andrew Lotery and his relay team completed the 2025 Clarendon Marathon in an impressive 3 hours and 47 minutes. Not only did they smash their sub-four-hour target, they also exceeded their fundraising goal! Thank you to everyone who supported the team and helped raise vital funds for vision research.
Walk the Test Way
Congratulations to Team ‘Walk for Wiggly Eyes’ who completed their Walk the Test Way challenge in support of Gift of Sight.
Inspired by our children’s vision research into nystagmus – a cause close to their hearts – they not only completed the walk, but also smashed their fundraising target! No wonder we can see beaming smiles at the finish line, well done team.
Congratulations to the amazing Ben and Alex from the Alma Inn, Southampton!
They conquered Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) to raise funds for Gift of Sight- and it looks like they had a fantastic day for it!
We’re so grateful for their efforts – and for the incredible encouragement and generosity shown by Alma Inn customers.
We are incredibly grateful to Chichester Lions Club for their latest donation of £5,000, bringing the total they’ve raised for Gift of Sight to an amazing £39,000 over the last 20 years.
These funds come from the club’s Spectacle Recycling Project, which has been collecting and sorting spectacles for 50 years, helping to support blind and visually impaired people both at home and abroad.
We are very thankful to everyone involved for their continued generosity, which directly supports vital vision research at the University of Southampton.