Evening of music and film in Lancaster raises £500 for Palestine charity
The Olive Room at the Gregson, Lancaster, was the perfect venue for an intimate evening of music, poetry and film.
The fundraising event focused on raising awareness of the Big Trek 4 Palestine, an ambitious and gruelling expedition embarked on by local businesswoman Ruth Herbert, who is walking 4,000 miles to raise money for the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.
The programme included beautiful performances by local musicians Pete Moser, who also compered the evening, and Chris Price, who sang one of his many clever songs, which reflect the situation in Palestine.
Virtuoso guitarist Lancaster based Howard Haigh treated the audience to his wonderfully exciting and moving playing and Christian Stretton from Arnside sang Bob Dylan’s Masters of War and one of his own powerful compositions, and Alison and Patrick Montague also performed.
The musical content was interspersed with poetry readings and a slide show documenting the Big Trek 4 Palestine, so far.
Since leaving her home in Arnside on May 2 Ruth has travelled the length of England, walked through the eastern part of France, crossed the Alps in to Switzerland following the ancient pilgrimage route the Via Francigena into Italy, where she joined a Roman military route Via Postumia (constructed in 148BC) to the Slovenian border.
She is currently in her seventh country, Bosnia, where along with the challenges of finding food and accommodation there are potential and very real hazards such as an encounter with a bear while walking through an area where unexploded land mines lie along the route.
Undaunted by such dangers a video message from Ruth reminded the audience of the reasons why she has undertaken this mammoth challenge.
“The idea for my ‘Big Trek 4 Palestine’ came about in response to a growing feeling that I needed to do more,” Ruth said. “I went to rallies and demonstrations, I signed petitions, I shared and posted online, I emailed my MP.
"But none of it felt enough. I have always believed in the power of perseverance, and this journey is my way of showing solidarity with the Palestinian people. The work of Medical Aid for Palestinians is more important than ever, and I hope my efforts will help provide the support and resources needed to improve lives and deliver essential medical care.”