Getting ready to make a big splash at Monmouth Raft Race

EACH year Henson's Heroes delight and amaze when their bespoke design for the Monmouth Raft Race is revealed when it is judged and then launched on the River Wye.

Astonishingly the team manages to create a sensational new design each year, one which always wows the crowd and never fails to stun the judges.

And this year is likely to be no exception.

The South Wales Argus was allowed behind the scenes to witness the frenetic creativity that leads to the construction of a Henson's Heroes raft and the detailed costumes for the crew.

Raft captain, accountant Neil Henson, who has entered a raft in the race since 2007 in memory of his late father, says selecting a theme each year is all very democratic.

Henson's Heroes has constructed and crewed myriad crafts over the years raising thousands of pounds for the main beneficiary of the event, Newport-based St David's Hospice Care.

The rafters have 'been' Will Wonka and his Chocolate Factory; Admiral Nelson and HMS Victory; Noah and his Ark and memorably the crew of a WWI tank. They have also manned a London Bus on the River Wye and sailed the Titanic from Monmouth to Whitebrook without hitting and iceberg. They've been Alice in Wonderland and also the Space Shuttle.

This year it's another detailed and intricate theatrical theme.

If you study the pictures and perhaps follow the Yellow Brick Road you may be able to work out what will be launched by the HH team this year.

Neil, from Woodcroft, just across the River Wye from Chepstow, said: "It's a total team effort from deciding on the theme to all hands on deck to get the materials, the raft made, painted and the costumes designed and made. It's great fun, exhausting and when it all comes together, very rewarding for all Henson's Heroes and helpers."

The work all happens at the family home inside and outside, with fingers firmly crossed each year in the lead up, that the day chosen for construction, is fine. If not, they carry on regardless!

Indefatigable Neil said: "We've entered the Monmouth Raft Race ever since 2007. Twelve years in all as one year it was cancelled due to flooding when the river was too high and of course last year it was called off due to the pandemic.

"Over the years we've raised many thousands of pounds. Probably more than £15,000. We're pleased to have won the best themed raft award seven times and also perhaps more pleased to have won the award for the most sponsorship money raised on seven occasions. The most sponsorship is the important one!

"We first entered the Monmouth Raft Race in the year my father, Mervyn 'Merv' Henson, died. He was cared for so marvellously in the last months of his life both in the hospice and at home by St David's Hospice Care. We just wanted to do our bit to repay the care he'd received from the hospice.

"The crew of the raft is made up of family and friends who knew my father. Creating the raft, making the costumes, getting covered in paint and materials and then entering the event is a great way to keep his memory going."

"Monmouth Raft Race is brilliant for team building. I'd recommend it to anyone thinking about having a go. It also gives you a sense of achievement having built and crewed a homemade raft from start to finish. For me and the team it's a sense of giving back to an organisation that means so much in keeping my Dad's memory alive and all while having brilliant fun."

St David's Hospice Care Chief Executive, Emma Saysell, attends Monmouth Raft Race each year with deputy chief executive, Wales rugby great, Adrian Hadley.

Emma said: "Monmouth Raft Race, with its marvellous rafts and crews and the finish festival with its stands and live music is one of the best events of the year.

"What makes it that extra bit special is the inventiveness and enthusiasm of the rafters in particular raft makers such as Neil Henson and his Henson's Heroes who create such intricate and mind boggling rafts year after year and help to raise so much money for the hospice.

"Monmouth Raft Race, staged so brilliantly by Monmouth Rotary, is a very well-loved and critical event in the St David’s Hospice Care fund raising event calendar, helping to fund the continued work of our nurses and the running of hospice services provided free to all patients and families."

Norman Williams, of Rotary Monmouth, said: "Neil Henson and Henson's Heroes are wonderful supporters of the Monmouth Raft Race who delight supporters and fellow raft crews every year with their magnificent themed rafts and the fabulous costumes that they create."

This year's Monmouth Raft Race, the 55th, is on Sunday, September 5. The 6.5mile paddle from Monmouth to Whitebrook on the River Wye is sponsored by Mandarin Stone. For more details and how to enter visit www.monmouthraftrace.com