Feast of comedy and music will raise funds for Norwich palliative care lodge

Ducking Punches will perform at PBL Fest. Picture: Courtesy of Ducking Punches (Image: submitted)

A 12-hour marathon of music and comedy will be held at the Brickmakers in May in support of the Priscilla Bacon Lodge on Unthank Road, with a range of performers taking part.

The event - which has been named PBL Fest 2018 - has been organised by Ruth Donley-Bond, a staff nurse at the lodge, along with fellow music-lover Laura Castle.

The event will raise funds for the PBL Support Group, a charity that works to support the hospice and improve the quality of life of both the patients and those who care for them.

Ms Donley-Bond said: 'The support group offers extras that the NHS can't or don't provide funding for. They sometimes fund education and training for staff, as well as Christmas presents and treats.

'We've also had patients specifically say what equipment they think we need.'

It is not the first time Ms Donley-Bond has done something to raise funds for the group - last year she shaved her read raising more than £3,000 in the process.

As well as being a staff nurse at the lodge, Ms Donley-Bond has an additional connection with the hospice, in that her father received treatment there before his death.

She said: 'I was working at the time he fell ill and he ended up dying at Priscilla Lodge. I knew he would receive really good care here.

'It was just special that my friends and colleagues were looking after him.'

The event, which takes place on Saturday, May 12, from noon, will see two stages filled with comedy and music acts, including Ducking Punches, Lit FM and Collapse the Sky.

Ms Donley-Bond said part of the inspiration to put on such an event was due to the fact her father himself was a keen musician, who performed in a jazz band.

Tickets are £11 for the whole day (12pm until 12am) or £6,60 for half day tickets (12pm until 7pm) and are available from the UEA Box Office website.