THE children’s cancer charity Candlelighters is receiving £650 which is the proceeds of a special concert held in St Mary’s Parish Church, Burley-in-Wharfedale, on Saturday, October 19. This well-supported event was organised by Burley Probus Club and featured the Wharfedale Male Voice Choir, an Organ Recital plus a story written and read by a Burley resident. The choir - originally known as “Burley Probus Choir” - was formed in 1985, changing its name in 2014 to reflect a wider membership appeal. The choir was conducted by Paul Hurst and the piano accompanist was Pat Jones; the choir’s President, Ken Bellwood, also acted as the concert’s entertaining MC.

Many favourite and well-known songs were sung by the choir; in particular “Bring him Home” brought tears to some of the audience! During the evening, the Director of Music of St Mary’s Church, Peter Collins, impressively played a series of short classical organ pieces; a seasoned organist - in his time Peter has played in St Paul’s Cathedral, York Minster, St Peter’s in Rome and St Mark’s in Venice. The storyteller was Charles Prest, who works as a judge in Leeds mostly dealing with children’s cases. Reading his own unique story “Why there are no longer Penguins in the Northern Hemisphere”- Charles’s narrative certainly captured the audience’s imagination!

The Probus Club President, Bob Baker, thanked both the audience and the performers for their support of the Candlelighters. The charity is Leeds-based, and was established in 1976 in order to support the families of children with cancer. Sadly, in Yorkshire, an average of 150 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer each year. In addition, through its volunteers, the charity plays important support roles across the Leeds Children’s Hospital in its Oncology and Radiotherapy wards. Candlelighters’ Community Fundraiser, Sam Bromwich, said to the club: “A big thank-you for raising this amount of money for our charity. Your support is invaluable and we could not provide our services without people like yourselves”.