Industry trainer and consultant Julian O’Dell and his wife Cat held their annual fundraising music festival Catfest on July 13 in their garden near Milton Keynes.

Twelve months of planning and hard work culminated in a brilliant day which raised a new record of £52,607 for charity Action Against Cancer.

Julian says: “I’m so proud of Catfest – this was the fifth time we have held it and it was widely regarded as the best ever.

“The weather was perfect and the feedback we’ve had from attendees saying what a great time they had makes the effort all worthwhile. Obviously the main objective is to raise money, so to beat our record was a nice bonus.”

The O’Dells’ chosen charity Action Against Cancer helps to fund cutting edge research which will ultimately save lives.

Former estate agent Cat has been living with cancer for over nine years and recognises that research creates hope for victims of the disease.

Catfest wouldn’t happen without the help of a number of special people including sponsors from the property industry TM training & development, Kerfuffle, Rightmove, Elevation Estate Agents, Driver and Norris, JNP Estate Agents, Acaboom, Reapit, Myhomemove, Agency Express, Manning Stainton, Land and New Homes Network and many more.

The event was attended by many of the sponsors, their guests and numerous estate agency folk.

Top quality live music over ten hours was provided by a fantastic line-up. Elizabeth & Jameson, Gareth Nugent, The Brethryn, Poke, Fred’s House, ABBA Arrival and The Alice Band had the crowd singing, smiling and dancing from first note to last.

The amazing total raised was boosted by some great auction lots including an England rugby shirt signed by Martin Johnson and holiday packages in London and Norfolk.

A collection of Julian’s drawings of music stars, many signed by the subjects themselves, fetched almost £2,500.

A selection of guitars which Julian had managed to get signed by the great and the good of the music world (including Brian May, Mark Knopfler, Robert Fripp, Steve Harley, Midge Ure and many more) helped boost the total hugely.

Julian says: “Cat and I cannot thank enough all those people who helped before, during and after Catfest, our range of suppliers, the bands, the sponsors, the attendees, anyone who bought raffle tickets, bid on auction lots, bought my pictures and so on.

“They should be proud of themselves for raising money for great causes. We are thrilled to have beaten last year’s record.

“Each year we deliberate over whether to ‘do a Glastonbury’ and have a fallow year to give us and the garden a break, but when we see all the smiles on the day, read all the fabulous messages from those who attended and loved it, when we sit and calculate the massive amount of money we are passing to charity, we think to heck with it, let’s go again.

“We have new and existing sponsors confirmed already for next year but would welcome more. Numerous bands and singers are offering their services and volunteers are queuing up which is great, but we always need help in terms of some stand-out auction lots.

“I am particularly keen to be connected with anyone in the music world who can help me get some more renowned musicians to sign our fundraiser guitars. I drive the guitars anywhere in the country to get the deed done. Any help is appreciated.”

If you would like to support Catfest 2020 in any way, Julian can be reached on 07718 634235 or julianodell@live.co.uk

* Julian O’Dell is a well-known trainer of estate agents. His purple hat looks marvellous