Two hardy souls from the Flower Market ran personal bests at the London Marathon recently and raised large amounts of money for three very worthy causes.

Peter Green of wholesaler Smith and Green made his way round the world-famous 26.2 mile course in four hours and 38 minutes. More importantly, he has so far raised well over £5,000 for two charities - Clockwork, a mental health charity based in Oxted, Surrey and Matthews Friends, which specialises in medical ketogenic dietary therapies.

Lara Chatten, who works with mum Linda at Linda Cottee Flowers, completed the marathon in five hours 49 minutes and has raised £2,600 for Cancer Research UK. Both were running in memory of lost loved ones and friends and both get our full respect and congratulations.

Back in the market, on September 23rd Bryan Porter of Porters Foliage and his wife Karen hosted a coffee morning and cake sale to raise funds for MacMillan Cancer Support. This was the third time that they had held the event and they raised over £600.

All the cakes were made by Karen herself and every slice was sold. The carrot cake was especially popular, said Bryan, who added: “We enjoy doing this, it’s a nice way to involve the market community in raising money for a great charity. All of us have been impacted by cancer, whether through our friends or family, and this provides an opportunity to talk about and remember the ones we’ve lost.”