Derby Refugee Advice Centre in conjunction with Amnesty International in Wirksworth put on a “Musical Extravaganza” for a number of Asylum seekers currently living in Derby. For them it was a joyful respite from the weeks, months and years, waiting, to find out about their future. Their distant troubled former lives were in Pakistan, Iran, Libya, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Sudan.

It was somehow poignant that this event took place in Wirksworth. This Derbyshire market town, is steeped in tradition and English heritage; it is said, with mocking affection,  that people who have only lived there for a generation are still considered outsiders. Multi-cultural, it certainly isn’t. Nonetheless, the residents that joined this event, displayed the best traditions of English hospitality, friendliness, and welcoming spirit.

The band “Please Y’self” played a number of skiffle songs and did a great job of getting everyone involved. Despite little common vocabulary for many, the beat and rhythm of the music, created a togetherness which made them really enjoy the present, and, momentarily, forget the problems of the past, and anxieties about their future.