Maggie’s Cambridge received an early Christmas present at the Ely Cathedral Festival of Carols, organised by Cambridgeshire Freemasons.
The festival raised over £25,000 which will help Maggie's Cambridge to continue providing free cancer support and information; a valuable service to those who use it.
The Cathedral was full to capacity for a wonderful evening of carols and readings, with Edmund Aldhouse leading the cathedral choirs, the Ely Imps and Prime Brass. He was joined by renowned composer and conductor John Rutter. The traditional readings were delivered by Jeremy Sallis from BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Deputy Lord Lieutenants Neil McKittrick and Richard Pemberton, John Attwater, Principal of Kings Ely School and Deputy Grand Superintendent David Blair.
The Festival of Carols was coordinated by local Freemasons who were on hand to assist visitors throughout the whole event. Cambridgeshire’s Provincial Grand Master, Bill Dastur, thanked the Cathedral Dean, The Very Reverend Mark Bonney, and Chapter for their immense support and said:
'The Cathedral and Maggies are our two charitable beneficiaries for this year’s Festival of Carols. We are hugely grateful to all of our sponsors this year: Rathbones; The One Group; Carter Jonas; G’s and Staploe Solicitors, whose support was so important in ensuring the success of this year’s event.'
Lisa Punt, the Centre Head at Maggie’s Cambridge, said:
'I am really delighted that we have had the support of so many people here at Ely Cathedral for this special event. I know the enormous effort that is put into organising large-scale events like this and I am so pleased that we can be part of this special event at such a spectacular venue. Thank you to the Cambridgeshire Freemasons, everyone at the Cathedral and our staff and volunteers who are here this evening, for helping Maggie’s.'
Kim Sheldrick, Worshipful Master of the Cambridgeshire Lodge of Provincial Grand Stewards, said:
'I’m really pleased to see so many members of the lodge (and their families) here today to help with many aspects of the set-up and running of the event, including some of the catering. Our Lodge was formed to provide Stewards to support and serve the Province and also the Provincial Grand Master and the Provincial Executive at events such as our annual meetings in June. Today we’ve very much enjoyed meeting and working with the lovely team of staff and volunteers from Maggie’s Centre in Cambridge. It’s very clear how dedicated they are to supporting the charity.'
