See a video: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=458721299515674&id=100064632553350&m_entstream_source=timeline

Anna Morris from Clitheroe has made a big decision this week. She has decided to cut her hair. This is not a simple or whimsical decision – Anna’s hair is at least a metre long.

But the decision has been an easy one. Her father, David Morris always loved her hair and so she has always grown it, promising she would never have it cut. She has now made the decision in order to raise as much money as possible for East Lancashire Hospice, who cared for him in his final days. 

David Morris was in the Inpatient Unit at the hospice for just 6 days. His diagnosis of pancreatic cancer meant he was ill for just three months. The disease was brutal and so the family moved him to the hospice to ensure his end of life was as comfortable as possible. “It was so lovely here. We could sit with him and not worry. All the care he needed was instantly available, and we were able to just be with him. We were all glad that we had that time with him.” Anna commented.

David worked for Hyndburn Borough Council as Senior Planner and Conservation Officer and was also the chair of the Edgar Wood Society, whom he had been commissioned to write a book about.

“The Arts and Crafts movement was his passion, along with vernacular architecture. He found the architecture of ordinary, local people very beautiful. The house is full of books and maps, particularly in relation to Edgar Wood - Dad lived for his work.”

David and his wife Reverend Anne Morris lived in Blackburn, with Joe, Anna’s brother. Anna has decided to have her hair cut at her father’s hairdresser, Hairy Stories on Church Street in Accrington - which is near where he worked. “I have not had my hair cut in years, mainly because my dad loved it.”

Anna’s long thick strawberry blonde hair falls down almost to her knees and is to be cut on Thursday September 1st, leaving Anna with a bob style. The full length will go to the Little Princess Trust to make wigs, the ends going to the conservation group Matter of Trust who make mats of hair used to soak up oil spills. 

“My father’s time at the Hospice was a real gift. It felt like home, and the gardens were lovely. My daughter Nessie, who is two, loved toddling around the gardens when she visited with us. It was lovely to hear the birds through the doors, which opened on to the gardens. The blackbirds in particular will always hold a special place in our memories.”

Anna knows it costs £4 million a year - that is £11,000 a day to run the hospice, and by making such a significant act as having all her hair cut off hopes to go some way towards raising much-needed funds. She has therefore set up a Just Giving Page.

To support Anna, visit http://www.justgiving.com/Anna-Morris-hair to help her raise funds in memory of her father David Morris.