Charities
I created my third production ‘Florence’ in 2020, the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth and the year designated by the World Health Organisation as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. During the summer, I was approached by a Trustee of the Helen Loewenstein Memorial Trust to play at a festival in support of the charity. I was incredibly moved by Helen Loewenstein’s story and by the charity’s aim to support initial midwifery training in Liberia. I’ve had the pleasure to meet Helen’s parents who set up this charity in memory of their inspirational, passionate daughter and I continue to support the charity where possible.
The Heshima Project is run by EdUKaid to support and empower women and girls living in Tanzania to overcome barriers to education due to poor sanitation. Heshima is a Swahili word meaning dignity. Through my husband Tim’s connections to Tanzania, I’ve been lucky to visit the country on a number of occasions since 2011 and have met some of the girls supported through the Heshima project.
I support the work of Trade Aid and the trainees undergoing vocational training at The Old Boma in Mikindani. I assist the development of the Mikindani Museum which presents the history of the southern coastal region of Tanzania and celebrates the achievements of the Makonde people.
The Trust for Overseas Aid and Development (TOAD for short) is a charity I have been committed to supporting through concerts and music activities. The forest LIVE concert series (below) donated profits from sales of hot meals at concerts to TOAD.
In August 2015 I released a download single ‘Home Lads Home’ with Dorset folk duo Ninebarrow. The single was recorded locally and all costs have been met by the artists so that all proceeds go directly to Wiltshire based charity Help for Heroes.
forest LIVE
I set up forest LIVE in 2012 to bring quality live music from touring artists to my rural home town. Together with Tim, I developed a concert series providing opportunities to local musicians to support folk legends Martin Carthy, Phil Beer, John Tams, Jim Moray and Megson as well as (then!) emerging artists Phillip Henry & Hannah Martin, Paper Aeroplanes, O’Hooley & Tidow and Ninebarrow.
FATEA Magazine
Since working full time as a singer songwriter and performer in 2010 I have benefited from the support of FATEA Magazine which champions independent music and musicians. In order to give something back to this stalwart of the folk and acoustic music scene, I write occasional reviews for the magazine.