FUNDRAISERS enjoyed a charity night to remember, organised in record time despite a ‘spanner in the works’.
Revellers proved game for a laugh as they endured the antics of bogus security guards, drunken waitresses and over-zealous workmen at the first glitzy event to be held in aid of St Teresa’s Hospice since before the COVID pandemic took hold and as a replacement to the traditional annual ball.
Comedy troupe Spanner in the Works sprang a host of pranks on unsuspecting revellers including under-the-table maintenance, behind the scenes banging, drilling and angle-grinding.
After revealing their hand as the evening’s official entertainment they then led an audience participation rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, memorable for all the wrong reasons.
The spectacular, which also featured auctions and raffles, as well as a host of games such as bingo and play your cards right, is expected to raise more than £10,000 for St Teresa’s Hospice, which needs £3m a year to provide free in-patient and community care for people living with life-limiting illnesses and their families in Darlington, South Durham and North Yorkshire.
Chief executive Jane Bradshaw told guests: “It is wonderful to be holding a special event, in fact any event, after such a long time. Just 12 weeks ago we did not know whether we would be able to have an event. The annual ball is a year in the planning but staff and volunteers have managed to pull this off in just two months.
“As a charity we can only survive with the support of people like you, allowing us to provide palliative, community and end of life care. We are so grateful to our principle sponsors tonight, Modus Subsea, to our entertainment sponsor Charles Clinkard, and to all of our supporters in the community at large. We have been tested like never before but the hospice has come through and continues to support our community 24 hours a day.”