I am one of those people who really enjoys watching as autumn gradually gives way to winter and the nights draw in. Growing up in north east Antrim, the autumn and winter were full of traditional festivals that we celebrated with great gusto. First came harvest with all the wonderful colours and the beautiful fruits of the farming community’s labours, then came Hallowe’en when my family allowed me and my cousins to cavort around my Aunt Jane and Uncle Maurice’s garden in witches' capes fashioned from bin liners, with toffee apples ensuring the next trip to the dentist would be worthwhile. Then there was Christingle (my paternal grandmother grew up in a Moravian church) and the Christmas season. Warmth, security and family love were very much the order of the day.
Something else that was always a constant was the night in mid-November when my parents would let me stay up late to watch the BBC’s Children in Need. My school would run a series of fund-raising events in the run up to the big night, and I always had a sense of it being something that the country as a whole was involved in and benefitted from.
Pudsey Bear and orchestra sign
The older I get the more I understand how privileged I was to have such an (in many ways) idyllic, old fashioned childhood, and I am delighted that we at the BBC National Orchestra of Wales will be heavily involved in this year’s Children in Need once more.
Katherine Jenkins
On Friday 14 November, we will be performing in Newport as part of BBC Cymru Wales’ contribution to Children in Need. It will be a thoroughly home grown affair with special guests Katherine Jenkins and Wynne Evans to name but a few. I’ve also been told that we will be seeing Derek Brockway as we have never seen him before - the mind boggles!
Music and philanthropy have always gone hand in hand, right back to Haydn’s day and no doubt before it. Perhaps it is because the arts offer the potential to enrich our everyday lives, tapping into a part of us that is not driven by material gain. Perhaps it is because music can tap into a part of the human psyche that helps us look beyond our own personal situation, if only for that moment. Whatever the reason, it is a privilege for us to be involved.
If you go to the BBC Children in Need Homepage, you can read about all the charities in your area that have been helped by CiN. One such charity is the National Deaf Children’s Society, who were closely involved with a project the orchestra developed last year, engaging with the deaf, deafened and hard of hearing community. It was an exceedingly successful and rewarding project, and I am delighted that The National Deaf Children’s Society is one of the charities supported by CiN.
Pudsey Bear with orchestra members
These are charities working in YOUR area, working, often with exceptionally limited resources, to help our neighbours who have never had the privileges and security I know that I have taken for granted. So, dig deep! Don’t just donate - read about the charities being supported, and if you have any spare time, see how you can get involved. We hope you will be able to watch us on the evening, for what is guaranteed to be a lot of fun, but will have a very serious message at its core.
To find out more about BBC Children in Need’s work in your area, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/childreninneed
BBC National Orchestra of Wales will be performing in Newport on Friday 14 November, as part of inserts broadcast live on BBC One Wales.
Fancy the chance to meet the team who produce the music for Doctor Who? BBC NOW are auctioning off the chance to observe a recording session for the Doctor Who soundtrack – visit the BBC Radio 3 website for more information.
