Theatre company’s bumper cheque for Hospiscare

The New Ottregians, a theatre company based in Ottery St Mary, have presented a cheque for £5,300 to Hospiscare, which provides end-of-life care for local patients and their families, following their incredibly successful production of Me and My Girl at the King’s School, in July.

Helena and Toni Williams-Pugh, who run the theatre company, made the presentation to Margery Whittington, from the local Hospiscare volunteer group, and Nick Agg-Manning, a trustee of the charity, which provides end-of-life care for local patients and their families.

“The amount of money raised is wonderful, particularly from doing a musical show where you have so may fees to pay,” said Helena Williams-Pugh, who directed Me and My Girl. “It ran for a week and we couldn’t have done it without the people from Hospiscare helping us - it’s really been a joint production.

“Hospiscare became close to my heart a number of years ago when a close family member got cancer. Like many people, I had no idea about it until then and was so grateful to the charity - as are many people here in Ottery. The community really comes out and supports us, from musicians to actors, and people give their time free to help Hospiscare.”

Nick Agg-Manning thanked The New Ottregians, who have raised over £60,000 for Hospiscare in 18 years, and reiterated the importance of donations such as this.

“Hospiscare is so grateful to everyone who has contributed - both financially and by giving their time for front of house or behind the scenes duties,” he said. “We need to raise £4m to fund our services this year and it is always incredibly humbling to receive donations like this, as it means so much to so many people.”