Ovation

I spent an enjoyable evening in the Royal Albert Hall at the 24th year of the Teenage Cancer Trust, curated since 2000 by Roger Daltrey of The Who. This year was his last as curator, and as always he had his friends Paul Weller and Kelly Jones on the bill. Also, Eddie Vedder and Robert Plant (ex-Led Zeppelin singer) with his band Saving Grace. As Pete Townshend was unable to be there, his brother Simon Townshend did the honours admirably. It was a mixed bag of music, my favourites being Robert Plant and Paul Weller, plus of course Roger Daltrey himself. But the appearance onstage of many teenagers who are surviving cancer brought the biggest standing ovation of the evening. Roger asked us all to switch on our phone torches and hold them up, then told the teenagers to enjoy the experience and take photos of all the lights around the auditorium if they wished. It brought home what the Teenage Cancer Trust is all about - giving teenagers struck with the most unthinkable of all illnesses the chance to live and have fun.

https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/