Stars Come Out for Francis House 10: ‘A fabulous night’
The 10th edition of Stars Come Out for Francis House in aid of a south Manchester hospice was also the last in the series.
Oldham’s Queen Elizabeth Hall staged Wednesday night’s finale, which was described as a “fabulous night”.
Northern Irish comedian Jimmy Cricket was one of the entertainers on the night, while his friend Jim Nicholas was the compere as usual for the event.
Jimmy said that more than £250,000 has been raised through variety shows like these for Francis House over the years.
He posted on social media: “Hi friends, my thanks to organiser Jim Nicholas for the last great ‘Gala Charity Evening’ for #francishousechildrenshospice with their director (soon to retire), the Reverend #davidireland who accepted the last ‘Gala cheque’ which makes it a total of a quarter of a million raised over many years doing shows.
“Alongside onstage were fellow artistes #nicksalt and #tinasalt, known onstage as ‘Kimika’ with #petersarsfield and guitarist #justindaish 
#liveperformance.”
Christine Pennington commented on Jimmy’s post: “We were there last night – it was brilliant.
“We’ve known Jim for a very long time he always puts his heart and soul into anything he does for charity 
.
“He’s done his gala shows for a long time. also jimmy cricket you were so funny you are a lovely person as well 
always willing to help Jim with his shows.
“It was a fabulous night. These nights will be missed but I’m sure something else will come along.
In addition to Jimmy’s unique brand of comedy, there were also live tribute acts.
Princess of Wales
Sister Aloysius and Fr Thomas Mulheran set up the Rainbow Family Trust in the early 1990s as a charity.
They were concerned about the lack of palliative care for the families of children with a short-life expectancy.
The late Diana, Princess of Wales, officially opened the seven-bedroom Francis House in November 1991.
