Music for MS: Thurso day of live entertainment as part of awareness campaign
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Local musicians are joining forces to support a multiple sclerosis charity by putting on a day of live entertainment in Thurso this weekend.
The Park Hotel will be the venue on Saturday for Music for MS ahead of MS Awareness Week, which runs from April 22-28.
Jack Macphee has been organising this showcase of local talent for several years and has raised more than £19,000 for the MS Society’s Stop MS Appeal.
The emphasis will be on acoustic sounds in the afternoon with John and Jackie Newton, Adam Wares, Andy and Ailsa Macleod, Fern Strachan, Keisha Sutherland, John Holmes and Stu Robertson, Keith Macleod and Stevie Taylor.
The evening promises to be livelier with Socialites, Folkd up, Special Delivery, Alice and the Coolers, PaleMoon and the Harper Band.
Catherine Cowan, finance volunteer at the Caithness group of the MS Society, said: “I am always amazed by the wealth of local talent and the generosity of the people that come along to support us.
“Research into stopping the symptoms of MS is progressing fast.”
The theme for MS Awareness Week 2024 centres around speaking up about the realities of life with the condition.
For the second year in a row, the MS Society is teaming up with MS Together, the MS Trust, MS-UK, the Neuro Therapy Network (formerly MS National Therapy Centres), Shift.ms and Overcoming MS. Together, they will be launching MS Unfiltered – a “sensitive and intimate” campaign to shine a light on the MS topics that can feel taboo or difficult to talk about.
They will be creating a safe space for people to talk honestly and openly about everything from bladder control and sexual dysfunction to navigating menopause and cultural stigma.
Throughout MS Awareness Week they will be sharing people’s unfiltered stories, as well as support and resources for anyone affected. They will also be sharing the results of a survey asking people all about MS symptoms that might be considered sensitive or embarrassing.
MS affects more than 100,000 people in the UK and symptoms typically appear in people in their twenties and thirties. MS attacks the nervous system, causing a range of unpredictable symptoms, including problems with balance and mobility, fatigue, cognitive issues and pain.
The Caithness group of the MS Society meets in the North Coast Visitor Centre, Thurso, on Thursday afternoons between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. Everyone affected by MS is welcome to attend.
The MS Society has a free helpline at 0808 800 8000 and more information can be found at www.mssociety.org.uk
Email Caithness@mssociety.org.uk for more information.
