On Saturday 19th May 2018, Belinda Carlisle delighted her audience by playing a short acoustic set of songs with her band in the grounds of Helen Browning’s ‘The Royal Oak’ in the idyllic village of Bishopstone in Wiltshire.

It was a very special event where Belinda helped to raise funds in support of her own co-founded charity Animal People Alliance. This charity addresses animal welfare in Kolkata, India, and helps to train vulnerable women (often rescued from trafficking) as paravets, enabling them to earn a living wage by helping to look after animals who have been neglected or suffered from cruelty.

Our Office Manager, Laura Haggis, is part of volunteer Team APA and helped out on the day by selling raffle tickets and generally helping out.

The local renowned Tin Shack Band, who play a selection of classic covers from the 70’s to current times, were Belinda’s supporting act for the day, along with Heart’s DJ, Steve Denyer, who hosted
the event. Laura’s partner, Nigel Fawcett, who plays the bass guitar in the Tin shack Band was also on hand to help out with the stage set up, sound and lighting for the day.

The event was a success and we raised an impressive £19,595 made up of £14,829 on ticket sales, £2,755 on VIP Meet and Greet with Belinda and £1,855 on raffle and jewellery sales. One hundred percent of the proceeds of this event will go to the charity. Last year the charity was able to treat 1540 animals, employed 9 people full time (trainees and para vets), lifting them and their families out of poverty and making them totally self-sustaining.

A big Thank you to the staff and owners of the Royal Oak for provided the venue and to everyone who contributed to making this event so successful and fun!