Final 'Peas and Glove' event to be held this weekend

Saturday 20 May 2023

A final 'Peas and Glove' event is being held this weekend in memory of a 27-year-old surfer and musician who passed away in January this year, after spending the last nine years of his life paralysed as the result of a tragic car accident.

Olly Newman's life-changing accident saw thousands of islanders come together to raise money to bring him home from a specialist facility in the UK.

After almost a decade of raising money for Olly's care, the Peas and Glove team have decided to hold one last event, 'The Final Wave', in memory of him.

The two-day event will be held today and tomorrow in aid of Healing Waves, a local ocean therapy charity.

There will be live music from over 50 local bands and DJs, games, motorbike stunt riding, a hog roast, stalls such as face painting and glitter, surfing, and much more.

The free entry family event will run from 12:30-21:00 on both Saturday and Sunday at the Watersplash in St Ouen, with a nightclub event taking place afterwards.

Matt Daly, Olly's best friend and the organiser of Peas and Glove, explained that the two-day event would serve as a "final party" and a "fond farewell", which would allow people to "celebrate Olly and say goodbye in their own way".

Pictured: Olly's friends calling for him to 'get well soon' in 2014, and when they were reunited with Olly for the first time in 2019.

Olly had been receiving treatment at specialist rehabilitation facility the Queen Elizabeth Foundation since his accident in 2014, when an uninsured driver slammed into the side of his car at over 70mph as he was leaving Le Port, his favourite beach area.

The tragic accident saw the then-19-year-old lose the use of his limbs and torso.

But after years of support from 'Peas and Glove', Olly finally touched back down in Jersey for good in 2019.

On 24 January 2023, Peas and Glove announced in a post on Facebook that Olly had sadly passed away after falling ill the previous day.

Hundreds of islanders shared tributes to Olly, remembering him as "inspirational" and with a "heart so full of love for everyone he met", and also offered messages of praise for the amazing work of the Peas and Glove team.

Pictured: Olly Newman's accident sparked an outpouring of support in the form of charity Peas and Glove.

You can find more information and the full line-up on the Peas and Glove Facebook page.