PRESS RELEASE
Date: 13 August 2019
Chris Fidock Memorial Family Fun Day set to remember popular Redruth resident
this August Bank Holiday
A charity event is set to make its mark on Redruth this August Bank Holiday, when the first Chris Fidock Memorial Family Fun Day will be held in the grounds of the popular St. Rumons Social Club in Redruth, on Sunday 25th August in memory of popular local father of three, Chris Fidock. Chris had been diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer), and sadly lost his cancer battle in June last year, aged 57.
All funds raised from the event will support AMMF, the UK's only cholangiocarcinoma charity, and help raise awareness for the little-known liver cancer whose incidence appears to be increasing across all age groups and the cause of which remains unknown.
Members of Chris Fidock's family, including his 30-year-old son, Sam, are organising this event. The family have already organised a number of fundraisers in support of AMMF, including Sam's 5-day 350-mile cycle ride from London to Land's End in June this year, which alone raised over £1,900 for the charity.
A gardener by trade since the age of 17, Chris Fidock was known in Redruth and across the wider region as the green-fingered man who tended a number of NHS Hospital gardens in Cornwall, including that of the Barncoose Hospital, Redruth.
It is hoped the Memorial Day on 25th August will attract local residents and in particular those who knew Chris, to reminisce on his life and incredible legacy.
As Sam Fidock explains, "My father bravely fought this cancer before finally losing his battle in June 2018, less than a year after his diagnosis. When he first became unwell in August 2017, he was initially diagnosed with hay fever, which seemed most surprising given that my father had been a keen gardener since his teens. However, it wasn't until September 2017 and after numerous hospital visits, that the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma was made."
He continues, "Unfortunately, as there is no cure for this little-known cancer. My father did undertake an experimental treatment in hospital but, having proved unsuccessful, he subsequently retired to be with his family in his final months. This event will be an important way for his family to remember an amazing husband, father, grandfather, friend and much-loved member of the local community. We want to give everyone in and around Redruth, an event they can all enjoy this Bank Holiday, irrespective of age. But we also hope that it will help to shine a light on the cancer that took his life so quickly and which most people won't have ever heard about. And who knows - if this year's Memorial Day is a success, we may look at making it an annual event."The Memorial Family Fun Day will commence at 12 noon, with BBQ food available throughout the day in the grounds of St. Rumons Social Club, along with a bouncy castle, an arts and craft stall, food stalls, face painting, an outside bar and plenty of entertainment throughout the day.
From 13:00 popular local band Guilty Pleasures will perform pop cover songs from some of the world's top artists, including Elton John, Rhianna, Tom Jones and Backstreet Boys.
Then at 15:00 Rock n Roll band The Sugar Bullets, whose music was much-loved by Chris, will perform some Rock n Roll covers including Little White Lies, Slow Down, Lonesome Train and Tennessee Woman.
There will also be a performance by Neo-Rockabilly band, The Devils Deuce, with brothers Sam and Tony Fidock both set to showcase their talents on the drums and bass respectively.
Helen Morement, CEO of AMMF says, "We are grateful to the Fidock family for their support, and feel sure that this Memorial Family Fun Day will be not only a really enjoyable Bank Holiday event, but will also help to increase awareness and raise vital funds for desperately needed research into cholangiocarcinoma, this little known and devastating liver cancer."
Admission to the Chris Fidock Memorial Day is free but any donations made by visitors will be gratefully received.
For more information about the event, please visit the following page on Facebook:- https://www.facebook.com/events/rumons-redruth/the-chris-fidock-memorial-charity-fun-day-at-rumons-redruth/440010800141515/
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Notes to Editor:
For media inquiries and interviews, please contact Esther Porta, AMMF PR and Communications, on +44 (0)7870 439158 email: esther@ammf.org.uk
About AMMF
AMMF was founded and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission in 2002 (registered charity no 1091915). AMMF is the UK's only cholangiocarcinoma charity, dedicated to tackling this devastating cancer on all fronts: providing information and support, campaigning to raise awareness, and encouraging and supporting research.
In recent years an enormous and extremely worrying worldwide increase in cholangiocarcinoma's incidence has been noted. Latest figures show there were 2,161 deaths caused by cholangiocarcinoma in 2013 in England alone (NCIN/Cancer52 report). The incidence appears to be increasing across all age groups, including younger people, and the cause of this ongoing increase is unknown. Much more research is desperately needed.
AMMF is dedicated to bringing about improvement for the cholangiocarcinoma patient, working closely throughout the UK with patients, families, carers, clinicians, healthcare professionals, researchers, politicians and policy makers, and collaborating internationally. For more information, visit: www.ammf.org.uk (registered charity no.1091915).
St Rumons Social Club can be found on Penryn Street, Redruth, Cornwall TR15 2SP Telephone: 01209 215743. Please click here for location map.
The Chris Fidock Memorial Family Fun Day is being generously supported by several local companies.