Sold out Soul and Motown Disco held in memory of loved friend and mother Eileen
On the 2nd December Eve Bartlett and Lorraine Paxman held a 60s Soul and Motown disco in memory of Eve’s mother, Eileen Wilmott, who sadly passed away from pancreatic cancer last year. The event, held at Moneyfields Social Club in Portsmouth, raised a fantastic £1400 for charity, Pancreatic Cancer Action.
Eileen was hoping to celebrate her 70th birthday on December 1st with a Soul Disco, however, with her condition worsening she made the decision to plan her funeral instead. After she passed away her daughter Eve discovered that her wish was to have the disco at her wake. She felt she could not arrange this in time but committed to holding the event on her birthday to honour her memory and raise awareness of the terrible disease that took her life.
Moneyfields Social Club donated their venue and the DJ’s which included Mike Presswell, Gary Buck and Johnny Mac who played Soul and Motown all night to celebrate Eileens life. Tickets sold out in advance with more people still wanting to attend raising £1,000 before the event took place.
Lorraine, Eileen’s best friend, organised a raffle to be held on the night which contributed to the total raised. She says:
“Myself and Eileen used to go to the Birdcage Club (local soul and Motown club) regularly where we met a lot of our friends and I wanted to bring that atmosphere to the night.
“It was packed at Eileen’s funeral and everyone said they would come if I organised a night for her birthday. It has been so nice that everyone has helped and I just want to say a big Happy Birthday to Eileen.”
Currently only 5% of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive beyond five years. Pancreatic Cancer Action is committed to working towards earlier diagnosis of the disease so that surgery, currently the only cure, is made available to the sufferer.
Ali Stunt, Founder of Pancreatic Cancer Action, said: “We are delighted that Eve and Lorraine have given their time to support Pancreatic Cancer Action.
”As a charity, we rely on the generosity these individuals to help us continue our vital work. Please back them in their fundraising efforts so that we can continue research into early diagnosis and raise awareness of pancreatic cancer.”