Driving force behind charitable ‘Proms’ tunes up for swansong

Debbie Page jokes that she must have been born with the word “work” stamped on her head. For 12 years as well as running a business and bringing up two children, she has been the driving force behind the East Riding’s “Proms”, Classics in the Park.

This year will be her swansong as she is stepping down as chairman of the organising committee, although she will remain actively involved.

Debbie got the idea for the event from Castle Howard. Some doubted it would work, but 13 years on, a good month before the flag-waving begins she is hoping for a sell-out audience of 3,000 at Brantingham Park.

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As well as perennial favourites, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Jerusalem and Pomp and Circumstance, this year’s event features a tribute to John Williams, with pieces from Star Wars, Harry Potter and ET, 200 primary schoolchildren, and as usual radio presenter Blair Jacobs in his Rupert trousers – “a bit of eye candy for the ladies”.

Performing will be soloists, soprano Charlotte Ellett, who “has the voice of an angel” and baritone Michael Dewis.

They will be accompanied by the Classics Orchestra, conducted by Richard Davis, who has recently been conducting the BBC Philharmonic.

Debbie, who ran an office equipment business with husband Mike Page, before selling it to Claughtons, for whom she now works, said: “I am never ever going to be a lady of leisure. It all started years ago. I became a school governor at South Hunsley School and they asked me to come up with some ideas.

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“It was in the early days of Lottery funding, you had to raise 20 per cent yourself. They wanted an astro-turf pitch and in those days it was £250,000 and the PTA was going to take forever on cream teas and coffee mornings.

“I went to Castle Howard as I had done for many years and thought we could have a piece of this in a much more scaled down version. When I look back I don’t know how I did it – but I was feisty and up for it.”

The event on July 9 costs £55,000 and every year there’s the daunting prospect of starting with zero, because as a company limited by guarantee any profits have to be disposed of by January 1 to avoid paying income tax.

But Debbie says: “If I wasn’t confident the demand wasn’t there I wouldn’t go for it.”

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She thinks the Royal wedding and forecasts of a barbecue summer will make this year’s event a bumper occasion: “I think last year was the financially difficult year and this year things are picking up. I think the British feel-good factor is back.”

If the 3,000 show up, an impressive £25,000 will be handed over to local charities, the Dove House Love you 2 Appeal and Daisy Appeal.

Debbie thinks the event still has years of life left, and is handing the baton over to Jelle Zwemstra, the managing director of JZ Flowers at Newport, who has joined the 10-strong committee. She said: “People always assume it’s me who does it. It isn’t.

“I’m very fortunate that I have myself surrounded by some people who are as equally enthusiastic as me.

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“I will always have an involvement but hopefully I will reduce it. I’ve reached an age where I need to get out to grass a bit. I think there’s lots more we can do with it because we have nothing else in the area.”

As ever she’s looking forward to the finale when the Union Jacks start waving and the fireworks going off. She said: “Not only is it helping charities but it’s given pleasure to so many people.”

Until May 31 tickets can be bought for £22.50 from the Hull City Hall Box Office on 01482 226655. Or visit www.classicsinthepark.co.uk.

Appeal to lead way in scanning

The Daisy Appeal “phase two” aims to raise £4.5m to create a PET-CT (Positron Emission Tomography – Computerised Tomography) scanning centre at Castle Hill Hospital. It will buy two table-top cyclotron biomarker generators, one based at the hospital and the other at Hull University. The fully integrated PET-CT scanning service would put the centre at the forefront of molecular imaging research in the UK.

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