| The Christian Aid group of Churches Together in Northallerton Area |
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"The Gas-Man Cometh" for Trade Justice
The cause of international trade justice will receive a boost from a recital of witty songs by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann, The Gas-man Cometh, on Friday 10th February at All Saints’ Church in Northallerton.
Former Company Secretary at Rowntree Mackintosh, Nicholas Nightingale, will be singing his heart out along with his singing teacher, professional singer Amanda Crawley and York University graduate Kate Pearson on piano. “Our concert will employ these much loved songs of the 1950s in the cause of eliminating global poverty. Trade Justice is a campaign by which ordinary people can quickly make a small difference to the world’s poverty, and in the long term some fundamental changes can happen said Mr Nightingale.
Northallerton is a particularly appropriate venue for the recital since it has recently been awarded the status of Fairtrade Town. The Northallerton Christian Aid group, will be serving fairly traded wine and fruit juice from overseas during the interval. Being aware that issues of justice in trade also affects the local farming community, these will be served with cheese from the Thirsk producer Shepherd’s Purse who source all of their milk from local dairy farmers.
Proceeds from the evening will go to Christian Aid, who support the call for Trade Justice.
Event details and tickets |
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7.30pm Friday 10th February 2006 at All Saints’ Church, Northallerton Tickets £5 adults, £3 children to include light refreshments,available from the Churches Together Christian Bookshop in Northallerton, or on the door. Enquiries: Rachel Parkinson Chair, Christian Aid group of Churches Together in Northallerton Area Tel: 01609 772647 or E:mail rparkinson@f2s.com More than 200 people crowded into All Saints’ Church, Northallerton last Friday, to hear a recital of the works of Flanders and Swann. Whilst many of the songs from the 1950’s are now rarely heard, the warm response of the audience proved that they are still very much loved. Soprano, Amanda Crawley, baritone Nicholas Nightingale, and pianist Kate Pearson, gave the concert free of charge in order to promote the Trade Justice campaign. This campaign seeks to address poverty in developing countries by adjusting the conditions of international trade. Refreshments at the interval included Fairtrade wine and fruit juice with cheese from local producer, Shepherd’s Purse, of Thirsk. The concert raised in the region of £850 which will go to support the work of Christian Aid |
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Notes for Interested Parties
Amanda Crawley, soprano, sings music ranging from plainchant through to the music of Coward, Gershwin and Cole Porter. She has sung contemporary music and has commissioned and premiered new works for voice and ensemble. She has been teaching for many years at a number of Colleges and York University and has coached actors within theatre companies. Amanda also runs workshops devised to increase vocal and presentation skills within management teams.
Kate Pearson is a composer and pianist working with performers from Opera North, the Royal Opera House, and Northern Ballet Theatre amongst others. She also works with schools and community groups and has recently written a children’s opera, “The Pied Piper”, which received its first performance by Opera North Education in October. Kate has worked widely in the field of disability arts, both with York group Accessible Arts and many other organisations.
Nick Nightingale has been singing baritone for 2 years and 199 days, a new career. His vivid happy memories of “At the Drop of a Hat” at the Fortune Theatre in London, heard as a schoolboy in the 1950s with Flanders and Swann on stage, have been part of the inspiration.
Christian Aid works in more than 50 countries helping people regardless of religion or race to improve their own lives and to tackle the causes of poverty and injustice. To this end, Christian Aid supports the Trade Justice Movement, a coalition of over 60 organisations including aid agencies, environment and human rights campaigns, fair-trade organisations, trade unions, faith and consumer groups. The movement’s member organisations represent over 9 million British voters.