Sudbury man has his locks shorn in friend’s memory

Big-hearted resident Frank Dobbs has raised �380 for a cancer charity after being shorn of his silver locks on Saturday.

The 70-year-old of Sudbury Avenue, Sudbury, went under the shears to raise money in memory of his friend Joyce Welstead, who lost her courageous battle against cancer in January.

Mr Dobbs nominated Macmillian as his chosen charity after their nurses cared for Ms Welstead during her final days.

Describing Ms Welstead as a ‘great friend’, Mr Dobbs said the care she received from Macmillian nurses as exemplary.

He said: “When the parents of my friends died with cancer Macmillian were there like a shot, and when Joyce got cancer, well at first we didn’t think it was that bad, but Macmillian were straight there.”

The idea for the charity trim came after a period of hair rebellion by Mr Dobbs.

He said: “All my mates I used to work with were on to me to get my haircut.

“And if someone tells me to do something I like to do the opposite. So it was getting longer and longer.

Anita Owusu from Highlites hairdressers in East Lane, North Wembley, administered the charity shearing. However, a haircut wasn’t all that the newly aerodynamic Frank received on Saturday.

He said: “One of the girls there dared me to get my ear pierced.

But, I’m scared of needles, petrified of them in fact, but being a stubborn old 70-year-old I am, I got my ear pierced!

“We got an extra �20 for it though.”

Mr Dobb is no stranger to charity work as the serial fundraiser has raised money for library appeals, cot death charities and Guide Dogs for the Blind, with activities such as sponsored bus washes.

He said: “I just like doing work for charity.

“It was my birthday in March, and when you hit a big number, 60, 65, you usually get a party.

“So I just thought, why, instead of me getting a party, can I not do something for someone else? I mean, I don’t need anything else at my age.”

It surely won’t be long before this charitable dynamo is fundraising again, but for now he is just appreciating his new look, adding: “I look a bit odd, but I looked just as odd before!”