Concert starring some of Huddersfield’s well-known musicians to be broadcast live worldwide thanks to Gaggia UK

A major charity concert featuring some of the top names in Huddersfield music will be livestreamed worldwide and sponsored by Gaggia UK.

The event at Lindley Methodist Church on Saturday, May 17, will by compered by well-known Huddersfield music leader and singer Thom Meredith and feature Marsh Ladies Choir, Gledholt Male Voice Choir, deaf musician Paul Whittaker, OBE and his amazing Musical Hands Singing Choir.

It will be shown live on Zoom so anyone can watch it anywhere in the world.

It’s been organised by church member Raj Beadle, who has been managing director for Gaggia UK and Ireland’s domestic operations for 30 years.

The company has sponsored the concert which it does every year as part of its vital community and charity work.

Lindley Methodist Church has supported an African charity helping young children for many years and all the money raised by the concert will be going to this charity.

It’s the Riziki Children’s Organisation based in Nakuru, Kenya, which supports children, often orphans, from dire poverty and then helps them through their schooling right through to higher education, including universities.

Raj first got the idea for live streaming events during the pandemic when he discovered Zoom.

He said: “People couldn’t come to our showroom any more so we, like so many other people worldwide, suddenly discovered Zoom on the internet which we used to show our coffee machines and now our engineers give advice to customers on Zoom if they ever have a problem with their machines.

“But it also got me thinking and I realised it would be great to use Zoom to take our fundraising to a wider audience and also showcase the great music that comes from Huddersfield to the world at large.”

People will be asked to pay £10 to watch the concert on Zoom with all the money going to the charity.

If people would prefer to help their own charities they can do that too. They can livestream the concert for £20 to two or more people but can also charge anyone else who attends their venue to raise money for their own charity.

The 40-strong Gledholt Male Voice Choir has been singing in Huddersfield for 75 years and has a wide repertoire which includes songs from popular musicals and operas through to traditional Welsh hymns. 

Marsh Ladies Choir also has around 40 singers and has been going for 65 years with a mix of musical styles from classical and folk to swing, jazz and songs from the shows.

Musician Paul Whittaker has been deaf all his life. A pianist and organist, he has a music degree from Wadham College, Oxford, and for 27 years ran a charity helping deaf people access music. He was awarded an OBE for services to music in 2007.

His Musical Hands Signing Choir has deaf and hearing members who both sing and use sign language at the same time.

Thom Meredith, who has a reputation as a fine baritone soloist, will be both the compere and soloist at the concert.

In 2000 Thom formed and conducted the Kirklees Youth Symphony Orchestra which is now called Musica Youth Orchestra.

Thom has been Colne Valley Male Voice Choir’s musical director since 1989, is musical director for the Yorkshire Philharmonic Choir and, as a freelance musician, is now regularly in demand to adjudicate and lead vocal workshops, singing days and choral courses nationwide.

The concert starts at 2.30pm on Saturday, May 17, and to buy tickets go to Gala Concert - GAGGIA UNITED KINGDOM

​The capacity for the church is 200 and tickets are £10.

Did you know that coffee can be a great pick-me-up for your plants as well as yourself?
Well, here at Gaggia UK Direct we want to make sure our products are as environmentally friendly as possible … and with coffee grounds only going as far as your garden then we reckon that’s a box ticked.

According to the BBC’s Gardeners World magazine: “Coffee grounds are an excellent compost ingredient and are fine to apply directly onto the soil around most garden plants if used with care and moderation.” 

Coffee’s a good fertiliser because coffee grounds are rich in nutrients, particularly nitrogen, and also contain potassium and phosphorous.

But spread it as a thin layer so it shares the nutrients around - don’t just chuck it on your garden in clumps. If you do that the grounds will clog together in a big blob of coffee, stopping water and air from getting to plant roots.

You could always just pop your Gaggia coffee grounds into your compost bin where they will just naturally rot, adding nutrients to your homemade compost which is an effective way to grow healthy plants. Obviously don’t overdo it – keep the coffee to under 25% of the overall compost of what you’d normally throw in there such as vegetable and fruit scraps along with leaves.

This will all break down into great compost over time as the rain and sunshine hits it.
It saves throwing your coffee away in the kitchen bin and some people even pour their coffee grounds down the sink where it could ultimately block the pipes.
When the soil is turned over the coffee grounds will then be fully recycled back into the soil.

Coffee is slightly acidic so it’s good to use with plants that like acidic soil such as hydrangeas, azaleas and lilies and root crops such as radishes and carrots, especially when mixed with soil at planting time.

It’s even suggested that coffee grounds can repel slugs as they don’t like the caffeine or gritty texture so it may be worth spreading them around the plants that slugs tend to target.

Be aware that caffeine is toxic to dogs and, although very little caffeine will be left once you’ve brewed your coffee, it’s probably best to work it into the soil or put it in your compost bin if you have a nosey pooch that’ll eat anything.

Some say coffee grounds repel cats and put them off using your flower and vegetables patches as an outdoor litter box. If so, that’s a bonus. 

The website Gardening Know How suggests making a coffee ground ‘garden tea’ by mixing a couple of cups of coffee grounds in a five-gallon water can, leave overnight and then use it as a liquid fertilizer.

Some say they’re a great fertilizer for tomatoes while others are not so sure. It’s also suggested coffee grounds work well with cabbages, fruit trees, roses and camellias but not on beans. It’s even thought that coffee grounds will deter weeds.

Like everything, it’s all down to trial and error and, as time goes on, you’ll discover which parts of your garden like your used Gaggia coffee grounds best.
​
Happy gardening but don’t forget to keep stopping for a nice cup of Gaggia coffee.
Your plants will blooming well love you for it!

There’s a saying that charity begins at home but here at Gaggia UK Direct we believe it starts in the business too.

After all, coffee is a sociable drink which brings friends together and can be a great way to help charities and community groups.

So we use the power of coffee to help many charities, donating machines and providing free barista training to several good causes, as well as raising thousands of pounds every year.

Managing director Raj Beadle has lived in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, for many years and so the company regularly donates to the town’s Welcome Centre food bank and the Huddersfield Mission where Raj used to be a trustee, along with international charity Christians Against Poverty and the Leeds-based Little Sisters of the Poor which runs a care home for the elderly.

Raj had never heard of the Little Sisters until they knocked on the Gaggia UK Direct door at its headquarters in Elland, West Yorkshire.

“I first knew about them when two nuns knocked on our door asking for donations,” says Raj. “I was so surprised to see them standing there we’ve helped them ever since.”
Huddersfield Mission helps people struggling with complex needs such as homelessness, mental health and addiction. Gaggia UK Direct donated a commercial coffee machine and provided the charity with barista training.

Raj has been a member of Lindley Methodist Church in Huddersfield for a long time which has supported a charity called the Riziki children’s organisation based in Nakuru, Kenya, for 15 years. Riziki rescues young children, usually orphans, trying to survive by scavenging on a rubbish tip just outside the city.

They then live in dormitories at the organisation’s centre where they grow their own food and vegetables and Riziki also pays school fees so the children can go to a nearby school to help them on their way to a better life. The schooling can lead into higher education, including universities.

The charity costs £50,000 a year to run and a series of church events culminating in a fundraising concert at Lindley Methodist Church in May 2024 raised almost £5,000, This included Raj raffling off a gold-coloured coffee machine and Gaggia UK Direct sponsoring the concert and making donations to the music groups involved. Raj hosts and sponsors a coffee morning in the church on the third Friday of every month from 10am to 12 noon to raise even more for Riziki, with the mornings expanding into crafts and charity stall events.

Gaggia UK Direct has sponsored Cleckheaton Cricket Club near Dewsbury in West Yorkshire for many years – it even has its own Gaggia scoreboard – and a youth team at Greetland Football Club near Halifax which is also in West Yorkshire. Gaggia UK Direct staff are involved in both these organisations.

In the past Gaggia UK Direct has been a major supporter for Macmillan Coffee Mornings and also helped the Prince’s Trust’s ‘Get Into’ scheme providing free training for youngsters struggling to get into work or training, often because they come from deprived backgrounds. Gaggia UK Direct not only trained them for two weeks with top baristas but took some on and one now runs her own business.

Raj said: “I wish we could do something similar now as we could do it over Zoom online. People sometimes need a stepping stone in life and we would gladly help them.”
​
Contacting Gaggia UK Direct couldn’t be easier. Phone us Monday to Friday on 01422 766972 or email us at [email protected]
​