When it comes to top billing, it can’t be every day that Kevin Sinfield, rugby legend and MND fundraiser extraordinaire finds himself sandwiched between a jazzy saxophone quartet and a contemporary dance troupe based in Mabgate. But that’s exactly what happened today (Sunday the 7th) when Kevin and his team, on the final leg of their gruelling 7 in 7 Together, dropped into Moortown Baptist Church, which for one day only had been designated an official challenge checkpoint.
Some weeks ago, and once the totally unexpected ask was confirmed, MBC minister Shelley Dring immediately set about using Kevin’s visit as the catalyst for organising a one-off Christmas Café. However, typically, this was to be no ordinary Christmas Café – no this was to be special. In fact it was so special that after ringing round her friends and contacts it wasn’t long before Shelley had secured the services of contemporary Dance Tribe and the Leeds Saxophone Quartet.
Of course, in the middle of all this it was important that Kevin Sinfield and his entourage were being fed, watered and for those who needed it massaged in our Music Room.
We’re delighted to say that everything went off well and following a 20-minute stop over Kevin jogged off towards the finish line at Headingley. We meanwhile simply put our umbrellas down, went back inside for more tea, more coffee, more mince pies and more of our excellent in house entertainment.
In addition to all this excitement, for those of us who call MBC home, there were a couple of extra surprises. Firstly a spontaneous invitation to Shelley and Karen to beat the starting drum for this the final stretch of the weeklong challenge. And secondly, as Nathan’s company ND+A had signed up to sponsor Kevin and the MND charities it was his “pleasure” to join the team plus Leeds boxer Josh Warrington and triathlete Jonny Brownlee on something called the Extra Mile, a much less demanding fun run which saw them alongside more than two thousand Santas negotiate four laps of the Leeds Beckett sports ground’s running track.