FORCES sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn will be in Ely to make a rare public appearance next weekend. The 91-year-old national treasure is appearing in a one-off Christmas event at Ely Cathedral on December 8 to raise money for cerebral palsy sufferers in an a

FORCES sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn will be in Ely to make a rare public appearance next weekend.

The 91-year-old national treasure is appearing in a one-off Christmas event at Ely Cathedral on December 8 to raise money for cerebral palsy sufferers in an annual event being held in the city for the first time.

Dame Vera is president of the SOS charity, Stars Organisation Supporting Cerebral Palsy, which also counts among its supporters some of Britain's most enduring stars. Ab-Fab grandmother June Whitfield, actress Sylvia Sims, who most recently starred as the Queen Mother in Stephen Frears film The Queen, and Christopher Timothy, who played the vet in All Creatures Great and Small will all be making their appearance in the show.

60s singing star Petula Clark will provide the musical entertainment with renditions of a forty year career of hits such as Downtown.

Roger Redfarn, SOS vice-chairman and Ely resident said: "I devised and directed the evening, titled When Icicles Hang by the Wall, myself. It promises to be a very special occasion."

INFO: SOS When Icicles Hang by the Wall is at Ely Cathedral on Saturday, December 8 at 7.30pm. For tickets, priced from £5, call Ely Cathedral box office on 01353 660349 or log on to www.cathedral.ely.anglican.org.