In late 2020, we launched 'Get ELOC Singing Again' with the main aim to get our members together (albeit virtually) on a weekly basis. Not only to get us singing again, but to keep in contact with our ELOC friends. A few months on from then, we stepped up and this group of people turned into the cast that performed this fund-raising show for the Teenage Cancer Trust and St Georges Hospital.

Paul and Sophie have been loyal members of Epsom Light Opera Company for many years. Watching Sophie experience the pain and suffering that this horrible illness has caused and affected each and every one of us in the society, and therefore it took little encouragement to bring together a large number of cast and production crew to organise this fantastic concert. The society pulled together in unprecedented times to create a fantastic show, with hits from some of Sophie’s favourite musicals, in order to raise money for such worthy causes. We achieved what at one point looked impossible, but produced a show that we were all very proud of, and at the same time helped ensure that these wonderful charities can continue to care for our loved ones.

Paul and Sophie's Blog

Here are a selection of photos from the show, thanks to our photographer Andy Carter from "Photos with Style" for taking these, all the photos from the show can be found here...

EPSOM PLAYHOUSE
Autumn 2021

CAST

ST GEORGE'S CENTRAL PLAY TEAM

If you are a fan of reality TV and watch 24 Hours in A&E, then you will know that St George’s Hospital is where the documentary series is filmed. Situated in Tooting on the outskirts of London, St Georges opened in 1733 at Hyde Park Corner. As London grew, so did the hospital until in 1980 the hospital was established in its current location.

Today, St George’s is one of London’s major hospitals offering more than 1,300 beds and various centres of excellence including stroke care and cardiology.

Our experience of St George’s was nothing but life saving. Sophie was transferred there from East Surrey Hospital, where she spent a total of 88 days in-between the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and Pickney Ward.

While under the care at St Georges, even when Sophie was very unwell, the staff from the Central Play Team made daily visits to see if there was any activity they could provide to break up the day. It was good to have a distraction from all the serious things that were going on around her.
As things got better, Sophie was able to take advantage of more of the Play Teams time, learning to play the Kalimba, making slime, playing board games in the play room and even a game of pool, all of which were great things to get her up and motivated.

We caught up with some of the team and asked what was the most rewarding part of their job? “Being able to help patients make progress during their hospital stay and making them smile during a hard time.” When a patient is in hospital for an extended period, it can be a very stressful time. The Play Team certainly helped us; they said “Seeing patients getting better and making them happier in what can be a frightening time is one of the best bits about my job.”

Sophie really benefitted from spending time with the team and certainly used a lot of their art and craft resources. We know that money raised at this concert will be well spent to re-stock the cupboards and buy even more resources for many more patients to enjoy at the hospital. Thank you from Paul, Emma and Sophie.

TEENAGE CANCER TRUST

Before the first TCT unit opened in 1990, there was no specialist cancer care for young people offered within the NHS. Teenagers were either cared for with very young children or adults, neither really were ideal. Now there are 28 specialist units and teams of expert nurses and youth support staff in NHS hospitals across the UK, offering young people with cancer the very best care and support from the moment they are diagnosed.

At the end of January this year Sophie moved from Pickney Ward at St George’s Hospital, Tooting to the Teenage Cancer Trust Ward at The Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton. As soon as we were up in the ward it was clear that everything was much more suited for teenagers. This wasn’t just the bay where the beds were, but also the chill out room and the hub were packed with large screen TV’s, games consoles, computers, games, books, a huge library of DVDs and a pool table to name just some of it. We were very impressed.

The day after we had got settled in we were introduced to Ella, the Youth Support Coordinator (YSC) from TCT. It was clear right away that Ella knew how to connect with Sophie and I as she came with gifts of chocolate, popcorn and other snacks!

Ella’s role is to make sure there are plenty of chances to socialise and stay connected with other people of a similar age. They’ll arrange activities and give practical help about specific issues, like altered appearance and body image. All this support makes a huge difference to life with cancer.
Early on Ella knew that Sophie was really into art and craft and before we knew it, she had organised an online art lesson for several of the patients on the ward. Another time we were invited to an online close up magic show, which was simply mind blowing.

We knew that during the COVID pandemic Ella was not able to put on as many events on the ward as there previously had been in normal times, but that didn’t stop her from making the best of the situation and going that extra mile to make the stay at the hospital that little bit easier.
Even when Sophie was discharged from the ward to being a day patient, Ella still popped by to say hello.

A YEAR IN PHOTOS

Paul spoke to our own Holly Carnegie in her 'West End Girls' programme on Brooklands Radio, listen to the show here...

(Paul's interview starts at about 7 minutes in)

Paul had the pleasure to have a chat with Dan from Brooklands Radio, listen to the interview below...

Dear Evan Hansen actor Sam Tutty, who play Evan Hansen wishing ELOC and the Sing Out To Help Out production all the best for the show...