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Open Letter - On Behalf Of The Tom Easton Flavasum Trust

Dear family and friends, we would like to thank everyone who joined us on Sunday 25 September (2011) for the celebration of the lives of our two sons – Martin Alex Sinclair and Tom-Louis Easton. It was wonderful that so many of you were there, making it a day to remember!

For those who couldn’t attend, Dolores read “Two Lives”, a short poem dedicated to Martin and Tom (www.TheFlavasumTrust.org), followed by Catherine, Martin’s mother. Galit, his childhood friend, read her poem called “Martin”, which is accompanied by some photographs of him at www.SinclairGenealogy.info/Martin.

Peter then had the special privilege of naming a narrowboat, the “Martin Sinclair”. The Sinclair Trust donated the boat to the Laburnum Boat Club in Hackney to provide access to the waterways for local young and old people who never get to enjoy London’s canals, and it seemed only right that it should be named in memory of Martin. After all, it was Martin and Charlie, his son, who unknowingly were the reason it was purchased in the first place!

The day before, Dolores had two radio interviews about knife crime and the Flavasum Trust, one with Jack FM, a local Hertfordshire station, and the other with BBC Three Counties, covering Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. She also had a telephone interview a few days ago with Three Counties concerning the proposed changes to sentencing young people who carry knives. On the Saturday evening, Tom’s school friends in Royston remembered him by meeting at the White Bear for drinks. Before that, they joined us at a drop-in centre for young people in Royston where they saw the equipment we had funded from donations the Flavasum Trust had received locally. We had helped the centre update its Xboxes and flat screens with a grant of approximately £1500.

We cannot thank everyone individually, but you donated £415.66 on the day, plus we were given a cheque for £155 by a company that shares a percentage of its profits amongst several charities. A further £257.05 has since been received, bringing the total to £827.71. If you haven't had a chance to donate, then please contact us! We can send you the Trust's bank account details to make an online transfer...

However, we would like to thank Laurence and Michaela for their quirky photographs, Veit and his assistant who spent all of the afternoon cooking meat on the barbecue, the DJ who provided just the right mix of music, the kind friends who gave us lots of food and drink – including some we haven’t paid for yet! – and especially those who helped on the day and transported tables, chairs, food and everything else we needed. And, last but not least, Jim at the Laburnum Boat Club for allowing us the use of its facilities. It wouldn't have happened without their help…

We’ll end by drawing your attention to CHANGE, our latest 4-page card. It has been reproduced from a screen print by Ben Eine, the well-known street artist who painted the mural in Old Street, EC1, just a few yards from where Tom died. Ben has allowed us to sell the card to pay for its printing, so please buy some! They cost £2 each (which includes an envelope) and the inside pages are blank. Any sales above 200 will be added to Ben’s already very generous support and help us support projects to get knives off the streets.

With very best wishes, Dolores and Peter

The Tom Easton Flavasum Trust
41 High Street, Barkway, Herts SG8 8EA
Tel: +44 (0)1763 849067
Fax: +44 (0)1763 848001
Mobile: +44 (0)7557 129 350
Email: peter@theflavasumtrust.org
Web: www.theflavasumtrust.org