NIGELS from across the world gathered at The Fleece Inn for a celebration of all things Nigel which raised more than £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation and even saw a Nigel proposed to on the night.
The unique ‘Nigel Night’ celebration was the brainchild of the National Trust pub’s landlord Nigel Smith who dreamt up Saturday’s (September 28) in a bid to bring together his fellow Nigels after discovering no babies were born and given the name Nigel last year.
More than 1,500 people to the National Trust pub to cheer on the Nigels and it’s believed the pub created a unique world record as 433 Nigels gathered in one place at the same time.
The youngest Nigel in attendance was Nigel Lowe, aged 27, from Lichfield while the oldest was Nigel Fisher aged 80.
Nigel Stevens was so inspired by the event he travelled more than 12 hours from Denver, Colorado to be among his fellow Nigels.
One of the highest profile Nigel’s was also in attendance as Evesham’s MP Nigel Huddleston joined the fun and brought a message from the cabinet thanks to Sports Minister Nigel Adams.
“Huge thanks must go to all the Nigels and non Nigels who came along to Nigel Night to share the fun and madness,” Mr Smith said.
“It was an incredible evening and we are determined to make it an annual event. Thanks too to the amazing staff at The Fleece who worked so hard in the run up and all night – we were inundated and they worked tirelessly.”
The popular landlord decided to raise cash for the British Heart Foundation following a heart scare two months ago and Karen Robinson, the charity’s Worcestershire fund-raising manager paid tribute to the landlord for his efforts.
“We want to say a big thank you to The Fleece Inn and all Nigel’s who turned out in support. The money raised by this event will help fund the BHF’s research into preventions, cures and treatments for heart and circulatory diseases,” she said.
Mr Huddleston said: “I am always supportive of businesses in my constituency and local pubs too, although I think I’ll be forgiven for looking particularly favourably on The Fleece Inn and championing their Nigel Night.
“I am a regular customer already and this event gave me a particularly good excuse to spend another evening in one of my favourite local pubs.”
