Named as one of the Daily Telegraph’s top Britons in 2012 for challenging the Chancellor with her You Tube ditty, the Dean of Wakefield Cathedral’s wife is taking her singer/song-writing skills on the road to help other historic buildings raise funds.
Pamela Greener became a You Tube sensation in 2012 with over 20,000 views after composing a musical hall style ditty warning that George Osborne’s proposals to close VAT relief on historic buildings would put an extra £200,000 on the restoration bill at Wakefield Cathedral - and plunge many other church buildings into financial crisis.
Her campaign helped raise the issue for both Wakefield Cathedral and the Church of England, which had 12,500 listed buildings. An online petition got over 13k signatures and saw a U-turn from the Government.
Now Pamela, a former international tax accountant and trained musician with a music degree from Oxford, wants to use her unique ditty-writing skills to help other historic buildings raise funds.
It is fitting that she has chosen the now restored Wakefield Cathedral for her debut concert next Wednesday (Feb22) at 7.30pm which will be full of her own ditties – including the VAT ditty and Vat Ditty part 2 with the Six George Osbornes; her own take on classics such as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and West Side Story and a selection of spiritual tunes for which she will be joined by a handful of the Cathedral choristers.
She wants to take her show on the road offering it to other large churches and historic venues to help them raise funds and write songs for them.
Said Pamela: “I understand how difficult it is to refurbish our old buildings, I have a degree in music and a talent for a tune and it’s about giving something back.
“I hope that my music can go someway towards helping people with their fundraising project – large or small,” she added.
Anyone interested in giving Pamela a venue should contact her at pamelagreener@gmail.com
Tickets for her first concert next Wednesday (22nd) cost £10 and all funds are for Wakefield Cathedral’s Friends fund.
[video:https://youtu.be/acyKWU0WUjo]