Citylife in Lichfield September 2020

LOCAL NEWS
8
Dance of a Thousand
Lights
An orchestra popular
with people in
Lichfield is playing a
major part in a
national event
involving the police,
fire and ambulance
services.
Emergency services’
teams across the UK
will be flashing their blue lights in celebration of
the brave men and women who respond to our
999 calls and who have been injured in the line
of duty.
The spectacular Dance of a Thousand Lights
event is Sunday September 27th at 8pm.
Members of the public are invited to join the
emergency services in lighting up the skies by
going outside and shining their phones and
torches during the spectacular event.
And in support, the British Police Symphony
Orchestra has released a film of a ‘lockdown’
performance of Rick Wakeman’s Dance of a
Thousand Lights.
The occasion is in support of PC David
Rathband’s The Blue Lamp Foundation. The
orchestra, noted for appearances at Lichfield
Proms in Beacon Park, is joined in the film by
internationally acclaimed classical pianist
Benjamin Frith and massed choirs, providing the
perfect soundtrack to a visual spectacular.
The Foundation provides support for injured
fire, police and ambulance personnel. It was set
up by the late PC David Rathband, from
Stafford, after he was shot and injured on duty
with Northumbria Police in 2010.
The event will also commemorate National
Police Memorial Day. The BPSO film of Dance
of a Thousand Lights can be viewed at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfhjy_SuGXc.
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Local
Schoogirl
Raises Money
for Hospice
A nine-year-old schoolgirl
who really made her
lockdown count by raising
£1,310 for St Giles Hospice
is calling on kids across the
region to take part in its
new Mini Miles 4 St Giles
challenge.
Determined Evie Deeley,
from Armitage, signed up
Richard Jenkinson
conducts the BPSO
Evie Deeley
celebrates the end
of her Miles 4 St
Giles challenge
for Miles 4 St Giles this spring and walked, ran,
skipped and did cartwheels over 64.8 miles in
one month to raise money for the hospice,
which cares for patients and their families living
with a terminal illness.
Now St Giles has launched a children’s summer
holiday version of the virtual event, offering kids
a challenge that will keep them active and give
them the chance to make a real difference to
local people by raising money for the hospice at
the same time.
Evie’s mum Liz Whalley said that when the
Croft Primary School pupil set her sights on the
Miles 4 St Giles 30-mile target in April she
quickly decided she wanted to double it – and
even refused to ride her bike as that would
make clocking up the miles too easy.
Evie’s great grandma, Margaret Whalley,
received respite care at St Giles 18 years ago
and her step-mum works at the hospice, so Evie
already knew of the good work done there and
jumped at the chance to take part.
For more information about Mini Miles 4 St
Giles, visit www.stgileshospice.com/minimiles.
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A Quacking Shot!
Local resident
Owen Coupland
recently spotted
these geese
practising social
distancing at
Stowe Pool,
Lichfield, and just
had to take a
photograph!
Have you got a
picture that you
think sums up
Lichfield? Email it to: kristencitylife@gmail.com.
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Get Creative with Your
Local Library
People of all ages
are invited to
take part in a
s u m m e r
programme of
c r e a t i v e
a c t i v i t i e s
organised by
Staffordshire’s
libraries service.
The resources are designed to get people
interested in the arts, help them learn new skills
and connect with others in library spaces,
online or at home.
There are two programmes, ‘Creative
Explorers’ for children and young people and
‘Createspace’ for adults.
‘Creative Explorers’ is led by professional
artists and will encourage children to
experiment with a range of creative arts. Each
session links in with a library theme which kicks
off with this year’s Summer Reading Challenge
‘Silly Squad’. Different activities are posted
every Monday morning on the Libraries
Facebook page with children invited to share
their creations in an online gallery.
‘Createspace’ is an online resource with
activities to help encourage adults to be
creative in their everyday life and to improve
mental wellbeing. New activities are posted
every Friday on
www.facebook.com/groups/StaffordshireCreate
Space and the group has over 80 members.
Find out more at
wwwstaffslibrariesculture.wordpress.com.
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Local Athlete Cycles
from Land’s End to
John O’ Groats
Lichfield-based
elite athlete,
Sam Coxon,
undertook a
m a m m o t h
f i t n e s s
c h a l l e n g e
which saw him
cycle from Land’s End to John O’ Groats to
raise money for local charity The Stan Bowley
Trust.
Sam, a seasoned triathlete and ocean rowing
world record holder, has several successes
under his belt, including 10 half Ironmen, two
full Ironmen, four marathons and an Atlantic
Ocean 3,000 mile row. However, his latest feat
saw him and his dedicated team travelling
1,600km (994m) over six days and climbing
twice the height of Mount Everest!
Sam’s team of fellow athletes included Martin
Mallott, Tom Penzer Adams, Harry Yates, Tash
Saxton, Tom Sutton and Dale Taylor. He was also
accompanied by a support crew consisting of
David Whitehouse and James Cooper who run
the Wilderfit YouTube channel and posted social
media updates throughout the epic journey.
The event, which took place between 20th-26th
August, also has a documentary film being made
about it. Further updates are available at
www.facebook.com/wilderfit and donations can
be made at
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/landsend-2-
john-ogroats.
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