Your news: Performers celebrate 40 years of fundraising

Members of the Hassocks TWG, Royal British Legion and WI, who took part in a June 1977 concert in celebration of our Queen's Silver Jubilee could not have foreseen that it would lead to a second such concert in December of the same year by those same members, calling themselves '˜Friends and Neighbours'.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Jan 2017, 07:00 BST

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March 2017, 40 years on, will see the current cast of Friends and Neighbours at the Adastra Hall, Hassocks, performing two shows of their production entitled ‘Let’s Celebrate 40 Years!’ It will be a fun and varied programme of singing, dancing, magic, sing-alongs and a raffle.

The concerts over the last 39 years have raised thousands of pounds for various charities and local groups, including Scouts, Brownies, Girls’ Brigade, our own Health Centre and various hospices.

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Three members of the group today, Maureen Dewdney, Janet Sharman and Dorrie Mottram, have been doing the shows since those first few in 1977.

The Burgess Hill and District Lions are the sponsors for the shows in March. The group will donate some of the proceeds to the Hassocks Explorer Scouts, helping several of the scouts join the West Sussex Explorer Scouts and travel to Uganda for 11 days in August, to work at a primary school in Kitanda Mubende.

The school’s current kitchen, which consists of eight poles and a sheet of iron, will be rebuilt, while the water hole, which currently only gives dirty water, will be dug much deeper to provide cleaner water.

The project will cost around £7,500 to complete, and while each scout has to individually raise £1,750, the concert party look forward to helping fund the rest through the proceeds from their shows.

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Friends and Neighbours are hoping for the support of large audiences both on Friday 3 at 7.30pm and Saturday 4 in a matinee at 2pm. Admission is £5 on the doors, with refreshments included. Advance tickets will be on sale at Pavilion Electrics in Keymer Road, Hassocks, from Monday 20 February, or can be bought by ringing 01273 845291.

Contributed by ‘Friends and Neighbours’

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Related topics:PerformersQueenRoyal British LegionHassocksScouts