Ray of hope in memory of Liz

Posted on July 25, 2007

Even after her death, brave Eaton Bray cancer victim Liz Farr is still making a difference.

Clive Bevins, the man she married three days before she lost her fight for life, has given a cheque for more than £2,000 to Dunstable charity Gentle Touch Healing.

Its founder Ray Wilson, who helped ease the pain during her final months, said Liz's legacy would go towards building a £10 million pyramid-shape holistic healing centre in Bedfordshire.

Planning Ahead: Clive Bevins, right, and Ray Wilson with blueprints for a holistic healing centre in Bedfordshire.

Ray, who doesn't believe in charging for his services, said the idea came to him 10 years ago and he has been working towards making it a reality ever since.

He said: "It's important that the healing centre is part of the community, offering a wide range of healing and health-related services."

Doctors, nurses, complementary therapists and counsellors would be invited to work together as a team towards a holistic approach to health care.

According to Ray the centre will be ecological, carbon-neutral and planet-friendly.

He said: "Jon Allen, who designed it, has a great deal of experience in using shapes and natural materials that are good for energy.

"He was one of the architects who designed a hospital in India for the spiritual teacher and healer Sai Baba. He also worked for many years as a design manager for The Prince's Foundation, an architectural school and trust founded by the Prince of Wales."

Ray hopes the funding for his dream will come from donations and that the centre will be financially sustainable through renting out rooms and selling ranges of healing and health-related products. And he believes it will happen when the time is right.

"I don't want to build an empire, just help people," he explained. "Quite often healers are the last hope for those suffering from terminal illnesses.

We don't promise a cure but we can give them a better quality of life."

Clive, a retired insurance company manager, said Ray was a great source of comfort and strength to Liz, who lived in Woodside. She hit the headlines when her film-maker son Rob made a documentary of her illness, Making A Song And Dance About Cancer. She also wrote and recorded the Thank You Song, with all proceeds going to Gentle Touch.

Clive said: "Altogether, she has given more than £4,000 to the charity."

He added: "On the anniversary of her death earlier this month, 14 of her friends joined me in a walk from The White Horse in Eaton Bray to put flowers on her grave at the church in Edlesborough. Then we went back to the pub for a roast lunch. We had lots of laughs and it was just the sort of occasion she would have organised and enjoyed."

For more information about Gentle Touch Healing call 01582 663900 or visit the www.gentletouch.co.uk website.

Source: Bev Creagh, Dunstable Gazette, 25 July 2007