Chrissie Hynde being a part of it is a nice touch, no doubt she will sing I’ll stand by you.

 

Good on them for honouring Sarah’s wishes it’s such an important cause.

Cheryl has written a piece for the British edition of Vogue:

 

We originally learned of Sarah’s cancer diagnosis during conversations we were having about how to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Girls Aloud.

 

We as a five had gone through so much life together. It is impossible to describe the situations, circumstances and life experiences we shared over those years. We lived, breathed and shaped one another in so many ways. It can only end up in a family type dynamic.

 

Sarah was the sparky one of our group. She was full of the spark of life and loved what we did. We all had different relationships and leaned on each at different times for different reasons over the years. I always felt like a big sister to Sarah, even though she was the older one. She would come to me for advice, or speak to me in confidence to share secrets.

 

When we learned that she was sick I felt stumped. I had always thought I had been or could be helpful in some way. There was always a solution to a perceived issue that meant it would eventually work out when we came together. We had managed to get through so many sticky situations over the years. But now I had a deep and overwhelming feeling of complete helplessness.

 

I was honest with Sarah about my feelings and she understood and said she felt the same. I jumped into what I knew I could do, which was all very surface-level stuff… things like care packages, with comfort and luxury items I knew she would like and enjoy. But still. I didn’t feel helpful, I just felt numb.

 

In the days leading up to the last time we would meet, Sarah came to spend a few days with me. She spoke so highly of and with such gratitude for those who had helped her through her medical journey. And of how much comfort they had brought her, and moments of joy. She was so grateful!

 

I asked her over and over again how we could help. Was there anything she truly wanted or needed? Finally she said to me: “I would love you to create an evening, a gala of some kind for me. If I am here and can attend I will be able to thank those who have helped me through all of this, and pay that forward in a way that will help others when I’m gone.”

 

Unfortunately that wasn’t to be. Eight weeks later, Sarah passed.

 

The rest of Girls Aloud and I took up the baton soon after, rallying together to make sure we made Sarah’s last wish come true. I feel a great deal of responsibility to make it what she wanted and help create and provide help for others moving forward.

 

Our aim is to fund a study headed up by Sarah’s oncologist, which will look at why so many women are suffering this terrible ordeal so young, without any previous genetic markers. This vital understanding would not only help but potentially prevent others like Sarah from suffering the torment she did.

 

I would like to move forward by remembering Sarah before her illness. Although memories of that time do exist and are hard to shake, they hold no weight against the light she so brightly shone in the years beforehand. I have many, many more of those years to hold onto, and that is my intention. Her fun, bubbly side, her close-to-the-edge risky side, and her deeply soft and vulnerable side are some of the intricacies that made up Sarah in all of her glory.

 

In the last few days spent with her, we got to laugh, cry, reminisce, cook, watch spiritual programmes (our shared love) and pray together. Those are the parts I will keep in my heart as I let the illness recede into the background. Now I want to commemorate her by helping to give thanks to those who kept her going in her darkest of days and nights.

 

The darkest nights create the brightest stars.

 

Sarah’s Primrose Ball will take place at The Londoner Hotel on 8 October with performances from Olly Alexander, Ricky Wilson and Chrissie Hynde. Hosted by Fearne Cotton. All funds raised on the night will be used to fund the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal research project by Dr Sacha Howell. For ticket enquiries contact events@sarahsprimroseball.com

 

Source

Edited September 29, 20222 yr by Voodoo

:cry: :cry: :cry:

 

A beautifully worded piece from Cheryl. I’m sure the Primrose Ball will be a great success & hopefully in some way it’ll also be cathartic for all of those who were close to Sarah.

That's actually really lovely :heart:

Very nicely put together and lovely.

@1578817251775770624

 

Beautiful :wub: but the surely unintentional gap towards the right of the photo just emphasises who's missing :(

Stunning ladies :wub: I hope tonight raises an incredible amount of money!

Here are some more. Always bittersweet seeing them together since Sarah's passing.

 

Once again, absolutely lovely to see them yet so bittersweet at the same time. Nicola looks absolutely stunning!

A few small clips of Olly Alexander performing Call The Shots at the event: https://twitter.com/GA__Updates/status/1578880678531596289?s=20&t=rbNSy4rt6oLg-FQdPTck-w.

Very heartfelt.

 

Sarah is so missed.

The picture of the 4 girls brings home the tragic loss of Sarah.

 

@1579048948760576000 ^ (I think you have to click here: https://twitter.com/GA__Updates/status/1579048948760576000 to see all 3 videos in this tweet)

 

@1579049822220587009 ^ https://twitter.com/GA__Updates/status/1579049822220587009

 

@1578884688277831680

 

@1579050735031160833

 

@1579051538403975170

 

@1579040953670987776

 

@1579050235816738818

 

@1579072613770756097

 

 

Looks like it was a very special night, and £400k+ raised is incredible. All the feels seeing Cheryl and Kimberley doing The Promise choreography :wub:

Great to see so much money raised, I wonder will this be used as part of a TV documentary down the road.

i'm a little confused why they didn't even sing one song together but maybe it's too difficult without sarah... so thats fair.

 

Nicola singing a Hillsong United song is a bit of a choice, although I'm a fan of Oceans but the church themselves were once known for conversion therapy.

Kimberley was quoted saying that "it doesn't feel right to perform without Sarah". I can understand why they would have wanted to enjoy the evening for themselves, without the pressure and emotion of performing together.

Ya i think thats totally understandable, maybe someday they will do it but for now its too hard for them as Sarah's passing is still very raw.

View this post on Instagram

After an intensely emotional (& quite stressful) year of planning & organisation we managed to fulfil our last promise to Sarah 💗🙏🏼

None of us can fight this awful disease by ourselves but by coming together, leaning on each other and fighting side by side we can surely try.

 

We are deeply grateful and touched by each person that helped in our endeavour and are incredibly proud to say we have reached our target goal, making us able to fund the entire study !!.. and also help in other ways for those currently suffering through harsh treatments 🙏🏼

 

To our host Fearne Cotton , and special guest performers Ricky Wilson, Will Young and Olly Alexander you have no idea how much weight you lifted off of our shoulders and how much light & warmth you brought into that room 🌸 💫

I will be forever grateful for your time & generosity 🥹💗

Every single attendee & person that contributed in any way no matter how big or small THANKYOU! 🙏🏼 You have literally helped in the fight to change the lives of others !!

 

Our pjs are also flying off the shelves .. 🥹 which means the people still suffering can be helped in Sarah’s honour too 🙏🏼 - the more we raise the more can do to help others with breast cancer.

 

I am blown away that even in these current times & circumstances people are still willing to think of how to help support others in this continuous fight. We’ll get there together. One step at a time 🤝

 

 

 

 

:cry:

 

Very proud of them for all they did to make the Primrose Ball a great success, and how they're continuing their charitable efforts with the Primark pyjamas and the 7" vinyl. :wub:

Really amazing of them four girls also incredibly proud of them. ❤️