Duo stage musical tribute to loved ones

Anne-Marie McAndrew and Kelly-Marie Devine will join forces for a series of duets at East Chevington Sports and Social Club.

The performance will take place on Saturday, when Anne-Marie’s grandmother, Annie Orr, would have been 81.

Mum-of-three Anne-Marie, 40, of Hadston, said: “My gran passed away last April after living with dementia for a number of years.

“I was really close to her so it was awful to see the dementia take hold towards the end of her life. She became very confused and forgetful, but she remembered me right up to the end.

“I wanted to do something in her memory, so organising an event on what would have been her birthday seems like a great way to pay tribute to her while raising money for Alzheimer’s Society. She’s such a big miss. I think she’d be very proud of me for doing this in her memory.”

She added: “My close friend Kelly-Marie, who is used to performing in public, agreed to get involved too because her grandfather, Tommy Main, also died with dementia two years ago.”

Tickets for the night, with a raffle, are already sold out.

Lucy King, Alzheimer’s Society community fund-raiser for the North East, said: “We need more people like Anne-Marie and Kelly-Marie to join us now and unite against dementia.”