On Friday evening, April 29 a choice presented itself, to be entertained by a folk duo in St Thomas the Martyr church, Winchelsea or stay close to home and listen to a Spring Concert from Peasmarsh and District Ladies Choir at the Methodist Church in Rye.
My friends and I decided to support the Spring Concert especially as it had been arranged to raise funds for St Michael’s Hospice Phoenix Appeal.
We were not disappointed with the variety of music Director Lois Benton had chosen. (Johannes Brahms, Karl Jenkins, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein and more) Heather Coote performed a lovely solo: “Panis Angelicus” and violin player Susan Bower gave us a rendition of “Songs of Shakespeare.” Jennifer Als accompanied the lively music on piano.
Dr Paul Wright, one of the volunteers at the Hospice thanked the choir and the audience for their support. He reported that St Michael’s Hospice has now been striving for over 28 years to provide the highest standards in palliative care in Hastings and surrounding districts, concentrating on the quality of patient’s lives rather than quantity.
He talked about the difficulties which arose from the fire at the Hospice in July 2016. But with the support of the volunteers and supporters they were able to quickly re-establish their patient service. While all the patients were moved safely at the time, the fire did a lot of damage and will cost a considerable amount even with the insurance cover. Also, apparently the cost of running the Hospice on a day-to-day basis remains at £5 million a year of which about £3.5 million a year needs to be found from their fund raising activities. So the Phoenix Appeal is in addition to their normal fund raising activities. Dr Paul Wright assured us that all monies will be much appreciated and well spent.
Photos: Heidi Foster and library