Guernsey Press

A sad but brave departure

BRAVE motor neurone disease sufferer Daniele Gaudion has died aged 61. Daniele, who courageously fought MND since 2007, passed away at her Rue Genet home earlier this month.

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BRAVE motor neurone disease sufferer Daniele Gaudion has died aged 61. Daniele, who courageously fought MND since 2007, passed away at her Rue Genet home earlier this month.

Daughter Claudie, who gave up her job as an air stewardess to care for her mother, said Daniele died while surrounded by her family.

Claudie, 24, is still planning to travel to Machu Picchu, in Peru, this September to take part in a 10-day trek in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Numerous events – not to mention umpteen donations from generous islanders – have helped Claudie far exceed her fundraising target of £3,000.

Daniele, originally from France, came to live in Alderney 30 years ago after meeting future husband Ray Gaudion in Cherbourg.

She was diagnosed with MND, a progressive degenerative disease that affects the upper and lower motor neurones, in April 2007 after feeling pain in her leg during a trip to France.

Daniele is survived by Ray, 64, daughters Loetitia, 39, Peggy, 35, and Claudie. She also leaves a grandson and two granddaughters. Her funeral was held at St Anne's Church last week.

For more information on MND visit www.mndassociation.org. To donate to Claudie's appeal, visit www.justgiving.com/claudiegaudion.

YOUNG tennis players from the island recently travelled to France to take on a team from Beaumont Hague. Six boys and two girls boarded Lady Maris II after being invited to the Continent by members of Beaumont Hague tennis club. Annabel Finding and Kerry Wedd accompanied Jamie Blackham, Alex Finding, Dean Smith, Milo Wright, Joe Blackham, Cameron Osborne-Burns, Aimee Coleman and Katie Clark.

'When we reached Cherbourg, we were warmly greeted by our hosts and then whisked off to take part in a day of competition tennis at their club,' said Kerry.

'Despite being nervous and still recovering from an early start and an unpredictable sea crossing, the Alderney youngsters soon found themselves in a singles contest. Alex Finding, playing first, had to battle back from three games down to win the first match, and set the tone for the rest of the day.

'The team managed to play some of the season's most determined tennis to win all eight singles matches in fine style. The afternoon saw us involved in a doubles competition and, again, the Alderney pairs played well and proved just too strong for the French. We then arranged a mix-up of French and English pairings to play a final enjoyable set.'

Alderney's captain, Jamie Blackham, then thanked the home side.

Kerry said: 'After the tennis, Jamie made a short speech, in fluent French, to thank our hosts for their kind hospitality.'

Alderney is hoping to host Beaumont Hague – the town it is twinned with – in the future.

'Both teams were a credit to their clubs and it is hoped that the Beaumont Hague youngsters will accept our invitation to come to Alderney next season for a rematch. Our thanks to Beaumont Hague for looking after us so well and our sincere thanks to everyone in Alderney who helped us make it to France.'

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