A very special fundraising cabaret and auction will take place at The Edwardian Manchester on Thursday 14th, September.
After their hugely successful charity event and online auction last November, which raised over 100K for The Christie and Stockport NHS Charity, Manchester music legend Gary Mani Mounfield and his wife, Imelda, are organising what promises to be another great night of first-class entertainment, along with a ‘superstar’ auction.
This unique cabaret night will feature an array of music, comedy and poetry, with all profits from ticket sales and the online auction, going to Maggie’s, who have offered Imelda and Mani so much support throughout Imelda’s cancer treatment, as she explains:
“Maggie’s charity has supported us from the start, with counselling and using resources to help explain to our children the enormity of cancer and its effects on the whole family. This fantastic service is available to all cancer patients at The Christie, which is run solely on charitable donations. Maggie’s has all sorts of support groups and services from writing workshops to yoga to legal and benefits advice. It’s a continuing battle for me, and I’ll be using their services more in the future.”
Imelda was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in November 2020. It had spread to her liver and a small nodule in her lung. She underwent emergency life-saving bowel surgery as it had perforated. Imelda had covid and appendicitis for her first three chemotherapy sessions, which were missed. She thought she was going down to the theatre to confirm appendicitis. Nobody heard anything for nine hours. Hence she awoke with no small colon and an ileostomy stoma instead. Fast forward six months of treatments and breaks while they considered surgery, Imelda had the right side of her liver removed.
Imelda was just on the mop-up stage of chemo when a scan revealed another tumour in her liver and several nodules on her lungs. She was looking at other treatment centres and treatments privately, as she was nowhere near giving up the fight. Imelda and Mani have twin boys aged ten, who she is fighting for to be their mummy for many years to come.
Maggie’s was founded by Maggie Keswick Jencks, who used her own experience of having cancer to create a new type of cancer care. Maggie’s idea was that with the right support, nobody would lose the joy of living due to the fear of dying when diagnosed with cancer. The first Maggie’s centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996, and there is now a network of centres across the UK and some abroad.
Maggie’s centres are caring environments that provide support, information and practical advice to anyone with cancer and their families who walk through their doors. They also offer support online. Maggie’s help people take back control when cancer turns life upside down, with professional support for anything from treatment side effects to money worries. All their support is free and no appointments or referrals are needed.
Maggie’s is an independent charity with centres located beside major cancer hospitals across the UK and excellent relationships with their partner hospitals. Many of its staff are NHS-trained, and all our Cancer Support Specialists have expert knowledge about cancer and treatment. Its centres also have psychologists and benefits advisors who are available for anyone with cancer and those close to them. Maggie’s also work with experts who provide exercise groups, yoga, nutrition advice and much more.
The fundraising event, which will be held at The Edwardian Manchester, will include a three-course dinner with entertainment throughout the evening via a cabaret of music, comedy and poetry. The event will be rounded off with an auction, which will also run online simultaneously to give people all over the world the opportunity to bid for many fantastic prizes donated by bands, footballers, actors, venues and promoters.
The auction will include a Stone Roses front ‘lemon’ bass drum head used at their legendary gigs at Heaton Park, which the band has signed, renowned artist Peter Savile’s original cassette artwork for Joy Division’s seminal Unknown Pleasures album, Zak and Ringo Star’s signed snare drum head, Stone Roses drummer, Reni’s signed drumsticks, David Beckham’s signed boots he wore for the last match of his career on 18th May 2013 for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), a Platinum disc of The Jam’s Snap album, several signed football shirts and more! Plus, there will be a big raffle on the night of the event itself.
More details and ticket information will be revealed shortly.
The online auction will be run by Adam Partridge Auctioneers, who looked after last year’s fundraising auction, which included Noel Gallagher’s framed and signed set of six platinum discs for the album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? selling for an impressive £8K. Plus, there were guitars donated by Damon Albarn, Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, Peter Hook and The Who. Liam Gallagher’s 2022 NME award for ‘Music Moment of the Year’ sold for £4,100, and the most significant bid went to John Squire’s Jackson Pollock-inspired painted and signed Hofner guitar, which sold for a whopping £16,800! David Beckham’s signed boots he wore for the last match of his career on 18th May 2013 for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) sold for £6,800.
The Edwardian Manchester, A Radisson Collection Hotel, Free Trade Hall, Peter Street, Manchester, M2 5GP, United Kingdom
