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fr frankie mulgrew

Magnificent send-off for Fr Frankie Mulgrew 150 150 mhamer

Magnificent send-off for Fr Frankie Mulgrew

A banner marking Fr Frankie's departure from St Michael and St John’s

Jimmy Cricket attended a party organised to mark his son’s farewell from the Roman Catholic church in Clitheroe where he has been placed for the last 18 months.

By sheer coincidence, Jimmy happened to have an afternoon show at a nearby arts centre, so afterwards he went with his wife to St Michael and St John’s Parish Centre to be part of what turned out to be magnificent send-off for Fr Frankie Mulgrew (below right).

Fr Frankie gives his farewell speech

Jimmy said: “I was thrilled to see the reception he was being given from all those parishioners present.

“The highlight of the leaving party for me was the children’s choir from St Michael and John’s RC Primary School where Frankie was the chaplain. The choir sung a fantastic rendition of the song Let it go from the Disney film Frozen.

“The evening was capped off when Fr Frankie was presented with a magnificent cake, which was made by one of the church’s talented parishioners!”

The cake for Fr Frankie

Fr Frankie, who has been succeeded at St John’s by Fr Joe Gee, has moved to a new Catholic church in Blackburn – another part of the diocese of Salford where he serves as a priest.

His duties in Blackburn will also include him taking up a part role as the Catholic chaplain at Royal Blackburn Hospital.

He was ordained on Saturday, 13 July 2013 at Salford Cathedral by the Rt Rev Bishop Terence Brain – the then Bishop of Salford – and in the presence of the Rt Rev Mark Davis, Bishop of Shrewsbury.

‘It was like the club circuit in the 1970s & 80s’ 150 150 mhamer

‘It was like the club circuit in the 1970s & 80s’

Jimmy Cricket appeared in the St Pat’s event at the Freckleton Sports and Social Club

Jimmy Cricket felt like he had gone back in time when he performed at a Lancashire venue recently.

The St Pat’s event featured famous entertainer Jimmy alongside the comedian Tony Jo at the Freckleton Sports and Social Club, just outside the city of Preston.

It was a fund-raiser to raise money for the cancer unit at the Victoria Hospital in Blackpool.

The event, which was held on a Sunday afternoon, was packed to the rafters.

Jimmy is performing more and more on a Sunday afternoon and is finding they are a popular time for people to attend a live event.

He said: “What made this afternoon even more enjoyable was that the atmosphere was more akin to the club circuit back in the 1970s and 1980s. I was very impressed with the set-up at this venue in Freckleton.”

Jimmy Cricket appeared in the St Pat’s event at the Freckleton Sports and Social Club

Fund-raiser for Lourdes Easter pilgrimage 150 150 mhamer

Fund-raiser for Lourdes Easter pilgrimage

Jimmy Cricket was at St Matthew’s Parish Hall in Jarrow in Tyne and WearJimmy Cricket was especially happy to help out at a fund-raising event recently.

The famous entertainer was at St Matthew’s Parish Hall in Jarrow in Tyne and Wear for the special function, which was organised by a lady called Liz Boylan.

It was arranged in memory of Liz’s late husband who passed away last year. She wanted the proceeds of the event to go to the Lourdes Easter pilgrimage. Easter is a special time at the famous shrine in France for young disabled children.

Liz got to know Jimmy’s son, Fr Frankie, when he studied theology at Ushaw College and Durham University a few years ago during his training for the Catholic priesthood.

So it was no surprise that Jimmy bumped into some of Fr Frankie’s friends with whom he trained and who went along to St Matthew’s to support Liz and her event.

Jimmy said: “A big thanks also to all at the Bede’s Well guest house in Jarrow where I and my wife, May, stayed after the show. We both received magnificent hospitality and I cannot praise the owner Paul enough.”

The two photos accompanying this story are of Jimmy and friends at the fund-raising event.

Jimmy Cricket was at St Matthew’s Parish Hall in Jarrow in Tyne and Wear

Book now to see Jimmy in action 150 150 mhamer

Book now to see Jimmy in action

Jimmy Cricket's shows in the first part of 2015

The first venue that famous comedian Jimmy Cricket will be visiting for his 2015 shows around the UK is the Plaza Theatre in Stockport on Sunday (25 January).

With the show scheduled for a 3pm start, there is the chance to have Sunday lunch with all the family, then go along to see him and laugh away the calories! Tickets are priced at £10 (£5 for under 16s).

Jimmy embarks on a tour of Northern Ireland with the You Must Be Joking show next week.

When the veteran entertainer visits the charming Lamproom Theatre in South Yorkshire during February, he will feature in a format that will afford the audience an opportunity to ask him a question, as he brings his Audience with show to the Barnsley region.

Jimmy’s trip to the Victoria Theatre in Halifax on 25 March will be part of a Music Hall show that his good friend, Neil Hurst, is organising.

And he is also looking forward to visiting Bexhill-on-Sea, where the team behind the Bexhill Festival of Music are organising the show he will headline in April.

All the other venues on the list shown above right will also present Jimmy’s Value for a Tenner show.

So if you live in one of the regions Jimmy will be visiting during the first half of 2015, do go along and see him in action.

A Christmas & New Year message from Jimmy 150 150 mhamer

A Christmas & New Year message from Jimmy

Here is a Christmas and New Year message from your favourite entertainer Jimmy Cricket:

Jimmy Cricket's Christmas card features the Only Fools and Horses’ sketch staring regular cast members David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, plus special Comic Relief guest David BeckhamDear all,

I write this from my dressing room at the Charter Theatre in Preston where I am currently appearing in a pantomime production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We have had some great audiences in Preston and the show has been great fun to do! (There is still time to come along as the show continues until the 3rd of January).

Another year has gone by and, after spending some time over Christmas with my family, I will start to look forward to what 2015 will bring.

This will be a special year for me as in October I will turn 70! Already there are plans in place on how this milestone will be marked and one of the exciting events will be a special fun run to be arranged at a location within my adopted home town of Rochdale.

There are already several interesting touring commitments lined up for 2015. In the early part of the year I will feature in a comedy show called You Must Be Joking, which has several tour dates around Northern Ireland in late January and early February.

I am also teaming up with the male vocalist Michael George for a couple of theatre dates in May and I make a welcome return during 2015 to the Warner Leisure Hotels circuit for the first time in several years.

Of course, I will also be touring my own stand-up show throughout the year and venues already lined up for 2015 include: Stockport, Preston, Barnsley, East Kilbride, Horsham, Nelson and Soham.

Over the last few weeks I have just finished recording a new comedy music CD called Jimmy Cricket – Light and Shade and this will be available to purchase early in the New Year.

Finally, it only remains for me to wish all readers a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a great start to the New Year!

Jimmy Cricket (17 December 2014)

Christmas carol service with a difference 150 150 mhamer

Christmas carol service with a difference

Jimmy Cricket is starring in a Christmas carol service with a comedy twist.

The difference between this carol service, which will be broadcast on BBC Radio Lancashire at noon on Christmas Eve, and a conventional one is that this version features comedians who intersperse the music and singing with sprinklings of humour.

The BBC Radio Lancashire carol service includes Jimmy Cricket, Steve Royle, Danny Pensive and Tony Vino

Also involved with famous entertainer Jimmy is BBC Radio Lancs comedian and presenter Steve Royle, alongside comics Danny Pensive and Tony Vino.

The carol service was recorded at the Roman Catholic church in the East Lancashire town of Clitheroe where Jimmy’s son, Fr Frankie Mulgrew, is based.

Fr Frankie did a reading alongside the Parish Priest at St Michael and St John’s RC Church, Fr John. Pictured is the front page of the order of service.

It includes all the classic carols one would expect for such a service, like Ding Dong Merrily on High, Silent Night and We Three Kings.

Jimmy will be listening to the programme on Christmas Eve – in between his 10:15am and 1:30pm performances of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Charter Theatre in Preston.

The panto, which opened last week and runs through to 3 January,  is a straight transfer from a hugely successful show, which was hosted at the Billingham Forum Theatre in Stockton-On-Tees last year.

Tickets are very affordable for all the family and the show schedule has a range of options, including morning, afternoon and early evening performances.

For more details and to book online, please visit the theatre’s website.

‘Nobody tells a budgie joke like Freddie’ 150 150 mhamer

‘Nobody tells a budgie joke like Freddie’

Jimmy Cricket's latest monthly column in the Lancashire Evening Post

Jimmy Cricket relived his wedding day 40 years on in his latest column for the Preston-based Lancashire Evening Post.

The famous entertainer  is headlining Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Charter Theatre in Preston – where he made his pantomime debut in 1981 – over the Christmas and New Year period.

When the Lancashire Evening Post contacted Jimmy through his website editor Martin Hamer – former digital editor at the LEP – about the idea of a monthly feature in the run-up to the panto, he thought it was a “very flattering request”.

And his most recent column recalls the happy memories from 1974 – and how he celebrated his ruby anniversary.

Jimmy also talks about the pantomime, which will be directed by Freddie ‘Parrot Face’ Davies who found fame in the 1960s on Opportunity Knocks when it was watched by an astonishing 20 million people.

“Nobody tells a budgie joke like Freddie,” laughs Jimmy in his column.