Jo shares this latest from art_house_life. Ed
On the evening of Saturday 9 December, a packed room of people were entertained at art_house_life’s Xmas Soiree in Ventnor.
For one night only ‘furiously fabulous females aka THEM 2’- acclaimed poet, Donna Jones MBE and award-winning writer, Joan Ellis – performed their quirky mix of poetry, prose and anecdotes in aid of Dementia UK. Guests of honour were Ron and Sue Holland and Admiral Nurses, Jill George and Jasmine Stant, and the crowd were plied with mulled punch and warm pies in the interval by art_house_life hosts David and Jo Kori.
Joan Ellis shared musings about her own mother who has dementia, read from her novels and performed her spine-tingling monologue as Marilyn Monroe in her final phone call behind a backlit screen. Donna Jones prose about her mother who died from CJD, contemporary poetry about Blackpool and stories about characters she met while working with youth on a working class estate outside Sheffield, had people laughing and crying in equal measures.
THEM 2 provoked universally complimentary comments from the visitors: “really enjoyable and thought provoking – brilliant”; “lovely way to spend a winter’s evening”; “fabulous”; “fantastic evening, thank you!”
A raffle and donations raised a grand total of £262 for DementiaUK – and if you are sorry you missed this special evening (you should be!) never fear, they will be performing again in aid of the Earl Mountbatten Hospice at the John Cheverton Centre, Newport on 15 April 2018.
