The Hertfordshire branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association are delighted to have been chosen as the Charity of the Year by Variety Express. As a result of this, a musical is being held during w/c 26th October - see flier for details. All funds raised will used to support people in Hertfordshire living with MND.

Founded in 1980, Variety Express (VE) is a North Hertfordshire-based community theatre group with a current cast of around 40 members, which has raised over £123,000 for local and national causes. VE produces a positive and entertaining family show for all.

For many years, VE has produced an annual musical spectacular, performed each October at St. Francis’ Theatre in Letchworth Garden City. Previous show themes have included Beauty & The Beast, The Greatest Showman & a journey through animated classics.

This year, VE are taking you back to a time when pirate ships ruled the waves. Two rival captains and their crews race against time and the elements to find the fabled treasure of Captain Lotteray. Along the way, they must deal with rogue ships, prophets, magicians, surprise romances and an eye-watering lack of personal hygiene…

Who will get to the treasure first? Who is the mysterious Prophet? What of the legendary potato farm? Why does everyone keep bursting into song?

All these questions may or may not be answered in this year’s hilarious show from Variety Express: Pirates!

To give you some information about the Motor Neurone Disease Association:

• It is the only national charity in England, Wales and Northern Ireland focused on MND care, research and campaigning

• The MND Association was founded in 1979 by a group of volunteers with experience of living with or caring for someone with MND

• We improve care and support for people with MND, their families and carers

• We fund and promote research that leads to new understanding and treatments, and brings us closer to a cure for MND

• We campaign and raise awareness so the needs of people with MND and everyone who cares for them are recognised and addressed by wider society

In respect of the actual disease:

• MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord

• It attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work. MND does not usually affect the senses (sight, sound and feeling)

• It can leave people locked in a failing body, unable to move, talk and eventually breathe

• It affects people from all communities

• Some people may experience changes in thinking and behaviour, with a proportion experiencing a rare form of dementia

• It kills a third of people within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis

• Six people per day are diagnosed with MND in the UK

• It affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time

• It kills six people per day in the UK, just under 2,200 per year

• There is no cure

For more information visit www.mndassociation.org