December 14th 2009 - Our Afghan Heroes Christmas Gala Night
 | The line up at the Christmas Gala 2009. From left to right. Marie O'Hara, Behind her Tony LIncoln, Chris Shooter, Marion Maddox, Charles Cole, Me - Jackie Lawson, Angie Evans, and Francis Symons The night raised over 1500 Euros for Afghan Heroes.
Photograph by Norman |
 |  Me - Jackie Lawson holding the unique Reaper Certificate and CDs Photograph by kind permission of Coastrider Newpaper |
Afghan Heroes Gala Night A Storming Success
Despite the torrential rain and freezing cold weather people turned out decked in their finery to support the British Troops in Afghanistan.
The sell out “Gala Night of Music and Dance” was held at Los Arcos Restaurante on Monday December 14th. At 7.30pm the doors opened and people who had braved the torrential rain flooded in.
The event was opened with a welcome speech by Jackie Lawson, who is the Afghan Heroes Representative in Spain, and who organised the event with Charles Cole.
Charles Cole, of Coles Country soon got the audience warmed up with his 50’s and 60’s songs, and by the time he got to his line dance numbers, the dance floor was full. Charles was joined at the end of his set, by his charity single partner, Angie Evans. To rapturous applause the duo performed live “He Drinks Tequila, (And She Talks Dirty In Spanish)” for the final time. The Charity CD started the fundraising for Afghan Heroes. Since its launch on October 1st this year support for the charity has snowballed in Spain
“We started out as a group line dancers raising money for the troops in Afghanistan. Now the appeal has gained so much momentum that we are saying that the money raised is from “The Expats of Spain”. So many of the general public want to help in some way or another, either by giving donations or by holding their own events. The reaction we have had has been phenomenal” said Jackie Lawson of Charlie’s Line Dance Addicts.
“I have been overwhelmed by people’s generosity. It means so much to us that small businesses have given us fantastic raffle prizes without so much as a batting an eyelid.”
All the artists donated their services free of charge for Afghan Heroes Night. Doubling up as DJ for the night was Francis Symons, who also produced the charity CD.
Maria O’Hara, the pretty, female singer, gave the audience a wonderful mix of show and diva songs. She finished her act with a rousing rendition of “Nessun Dorma” which had the crowd in raptures. Despite her slimness, this lady has a huge voice that surprises and delight.
Tony Lincoln, a well known entertainer and singer on the Coast Blanca, gave a fantastic performance during the show. His antics and fun loving ways had the audience roaring with laughter, doing actions to songs and getting into the Christmas spirit. Tony kindly gave up celebrating his birthday to perform, and was given a standing ovation as he finished his set, something that he truly deservedThere were surprises for everyone who attended. The first was when everyone was given the new Afghan Heroes wristbands as a thank you gift from Afghan Heroes in the United Kingdom. The wristbands have only been available for 2 weeks and this is the first batch to come to Spain. They will be selling for 3 Euros in Spain, or are available to order online from Afghan Heroes website. At the recent Millie Awards in London HRH Prince Harry asked to have one, and of course, was given one.
As an acknowledgement of their contribution to the night, all the artists who performed and Los Arcos Restaurante were presented with certificates from Afghan Heroes Charity. These will be displayed on www.afghanheroes.org.uk
With a large tombola and diverse raffle prizes including 125 Euros worth of body massages, a Christmas tree, line dance lessons, a Drinks fountain, meals for 2 and a trip to Benidorm Palace, people put their hands deep into their pockets.
By the end of the show, which a spokeswoman from Los Arcos Restaurante described as “Dynamic”, everyone had had a wonderful time and raised a total of €1583. This brings the total raised since October to over €3000.
Jackie Lawson the Events Co-ordinator commented, “We are staggered by how much we have raised. And we haven’t finished yet. We are holding a fundraising event this week at “Hazyland” in Daya Nueva, and will also be in Iceland, La Marina on December 21st to sell our wares
The Unique Framed Reaper Certificate and signed CD was on display for the first time in Spain. It will be auctioned in the New Year, both here and in the UK. The first press release has just been printed in the United Kingdom. The RAF’s magazine will be distributed to over 2,500 military personnel and is read by over 7000 people worldwide.
