Busker to play for presents in Alnwick charity effort

Posted by The Journal on Nov 23, 09 10:13 AM in News

Busker Derek Allan will play Father Christmas for some terminally ill children by asking the public to give him toys instead of money when he plays on the streets.

Rocker Derek will be playing in Alnwick Market Square on Saturday, but instead of people giving him money for his efforts, he is asking them to buy a present for a child which he will pass on to a charity.

Derek Allan

The idea was inspired by Derek's childhood in a care home when volunteers from RAF Boulmer brightened one Christmas with unexpected gifts.

Now he is hoping that he will provide similar cheer to children being cared for by the Rainbow Trust, a charity which has a respite home for children with life limiting illnesses near Hexham, in Northumberland.

Derek, from Red Row in Northumberland, said: "I was in a home when I was little, and RAF Boulmer fetched presents for us. I thought when I was big I was going to do something like that. I wanted to be that person, the person I could look up to. That's absolutely it - you've got to remember what it was like when you were little, that somebody cares.

This Saturday, Derek will be assisted by wife Melanie and her sister Michelle Henderson, who will dress up as elves and collect the presents.

Dressed in his trademark shorts even in winter, Derek did his Playing for Presents busking for the first time last Christmas and came away with seven sacks full of quality gifts.

He said: "People loved it. We had no idea what was going to happen, but people walked past, went straight to the shops then came back with presents.

"It was amazing, getting presents off strangers. There were no rubbish presents either - there were things like Lord of the Rings chess sets.

"We'd got a table with people dressed as elves, and places were giving us free coffee - it was mad. I love doing things like this - it keeps your heart going."

The Rainbow Trust runs a respite centre in Hexham but announced earlier this year that it will be closed by the end of the year so that the charity can instead concentrate its work on support workers providing care in people's homes.

The moves will enable the Trust to provide care to more families and address its current predicament in which demand for its services outstrips supply.

MARATHON OF MUSIC

Playing for Presents is not the first time Derek has used his music to help ill children.

The 34-year-old proved he was a true guitar hero when he played a mammoth 84-hour gig by performing 12-hour sets at seven pubs on seven consecutive nights.

Musician friends from his gig-booking business Acoustic Magic helped out by playing whenever they could.

The endurance effort left him exhausted and split the ends of his fingers, but he surpassed his £700 target by raising £810. All the money went to Grace House North East Children's Hospice Appeal.

He even wrote an album before the gig, and had only just learnt to play the guitar after splitting from his guitarist.

His next aim is to play 10 hours for 10 consecutive days.

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