A VERY English weekend in Ilkley saw hundreds of people have a fun time - and brought in much-needed money to help deserving causes.

Organised by charity group Avid Events, two days of hectic activity were staged to coincide with the run-up to St George's Day..

It began with a star-strewn children's party on Saturday, through a spectacular concert dinner in the evening and a rousing river race on the Sunday.

Avid Events spokesman Mitchell Dennis said: "Everyone had a fun time and at the end of it all a number of projects will get financial support.

About 70 youngsters attended the children's party which saw appearances by St George, James Bond, Lady Penelope and other glitterati in the King's Hall.

In the evening, at the same venue, guests turned up in fancy dress for a This Is England celebration. Costumes ranged from stunning medieval and Edwardian outfits to the more modern Beatles (at the time of Sgt Pepper) and England soccer fans.

Guests, greeted by Pearly Queen Shirley Britton, took part in games before the concert which headlined the Marsden Brass Band and the Newquay Rowing Club Singers.

Other appearances included singers Jay and Pat Hudson, who came on as Britannia, and 'Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip'.

A magnificent table of bewigged people - led by dentist Jack Duffy - took the prize for the best group fancy dress, while the individual male best costume prize went to another dentist, Stephen Spencer, as Richard the Lionheart, and the female prize to Lynne Baines, of Ripon.

Pat Hudson and Marsden Brass Band led the flag-waving Last Night of the Proms singing to Jerusalem, Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory. The latter was sung with such gusto by the guests that an encore had to be given.

Tennis progidy Alice MacKenzie, and racing drivers James Hanson and Paul Clarke made guest appearances and an auction was held.

Prizes included a day at the Jaguar factory, with the chance to test drive the latest model and lunch for two and a box at Odsal for a Bradford Bulls match.

The star prize of driving a racing car in the BA Racing Driver Renault Clio Championship, which included tuition and then the scholarship class (if successful an entry to the next round), fetched £640.

The dinner menu began with mackerel brought special from Newquay by the rowing club party. The main course of hog roast was provided by Ilkley award-winning butcher David Lishman, and the dessert was by Yewbank Caterers, also of Ilkley.

Guests finished with Wallace and Grommitt's favourite cheese from Wensleydale. The evening was rounded off in the early hours by Mr Bean's Disco and bacon butties.

Sunday saw a spectacular 'Three Persons in a Boat' race on the Wharfe. Fifteen teams competed for a barrel of beer supplied by England's newest brewers, the Skipton Brewery Company. It was won by William Whitaker's Hot Chocolate team, with the runner-up being Kim Brook's team from Ilkley.

Just before 3pm there was an 'incident' in which three damsels were seen in distress on the river.

"Forunately, members of the Newquay lifeboat crew were standing by and were able to dash to their 'rescue'," said Mr Dennis. They were led by Philip Trebilcock, who has four generations of lifeboat crew in his family, and the damsels were brought to the shore to tumultous applause from the watching crowd.

To allow the highly successful event to take place, a team of volunteers had helped to build up the weir. The Riverside Hotel made a substantial investment in getting the boats ready as the previous boathouse and oars had been destroyed by arsonists.

Now, thanks to the hotel, Ilkley has once again a full boating facility - for the first time in eight years.

Projects which will benefit from the weekend events are:

l The Pipedream skate park project.

l Bright Sparks Fund, which helps to develop promising young sports people.

l Sparks, the national children's medical research charity.

A donation will also be made to Ilkley Rugby Union Football Club towards the funding for Fred Matthews to make a coaching trip to New Zealand.