History is made in the North–East this week as Durham hosts the most northerly Ashes Test Match ever and the action will not just be on the pitch but the occasion will be marked with a significant North East flavour with several special guests throughout the Test.
The Lindisfarne Gospels Durham Community Choir will headline the entertainment with the choir formed to celebrate the exhibition of the Lindisfarne Gospels in Durham throughout the summer of 2013.
To help celebrate the Investec Ashes coming to the area a number of the choir will be performing in what promises to be a magnificent scene at the opening of Day two on Saturday 10th August.
Dr Keith Bartlett, Lindisfarne Gospels Durham Programme Director said he was thrilled that the choir is performing at such a prestigious event.
“The choir was formed especially to celebrate the exhibition of this amazing book in Durham and to encourage community involvement across the region.
“Many of the members were completely new to singing when they started and had never performed in public. To sing to an audience of this size at the Ashes is an incredible achievement and I am extremely proud of them.”
Carrying on with the music festivities the Royal Air Force (RAF) band will also grace Chester-le-Street with their presence and perform on the ground on the day 3 tea-break on Sunday August 11th.
The squadron recently won the Lees Trophy which is annually awarded to the top performing air cadet squadron in the country.
The squadron band performed for HM the Queen at the official opening of Tyne Tunnel 2 and recently performed at St. James’ Park to mark Remembrance Sunday. It also welcomed the Olympic Torch into Newcastle City Centre and performed at the Olympic Football last year.
Some of the young people performing in the squadron band are being assessed for their performance unit of the BTEC First Diploma in Music.
Officer Commanding Flight Lieutenant Gary Richardsonn said his group were looking forward to performing and thankful for the opportunity to perform some local tunes for the crowd.
“Our young people have performed at some very prestigious occasions and to be performing at the Ashes is an incredible opportunity that they can remember for many years to come.”
Durham will also use the historic occasion to showcase the Durham CC Vision Impaired team who will play during the lunch break on Day 3.
The club is a relatively new one in the world of Visually Impaired Cricket and it was formed as the Durham VI Cricket Club in 2010.
Durham currently has a squad of around 13 players, male and female, of varying sight levels. The side has a large number of fully blind (B1) players; many teams struggle to find these sorts of players.
The side won the 2010 Spirit of Cricket Award at the BCEW (Blind Cricket England & Wales) Development weekend and In 2011 the team played in the 30 over BBS (British Blind Sport) Cup away to Hampshire, as well as several friendlies and they also took part in the development weekend.
Last year the team joined the North & East Development League, as well as playing in the BBS Cup and the Bill Frindall Memorial T20 Cup.
In 2013 the team have played in the Development League, the BBS Cup and will be taking part in a Development T20 tournament later on in the summer.
Club secretary and Assistant Coach Gareth Townley said that the players are honoured and delighted to be included in the lunchtime entertainment for the 4th Investec Ashes Test Match.
“They can’t wait to savour the atmosphere of an Ashes Test, and to demonstrate Visually Impaired Cricket to the sell-out crowd at the ground,” Townley said.