Poet Pam Ayres will visit Chorley to launch new book The Last Hedgehog

A British poet and comedian will visit Chorley on a tour to launch her latest book, The Last Hedgehog.
Pam AyresPam Ayres
Pam Ayres

Pam Ayres, who has been making the nation laugh for over 40 years through her shows and also as a radio and television presenter, will step onto the stage at Chorley Little Theatre for her performance.

Ian Robinson, who operates the Little Theatre, said: “Pam will be talking about her new book, The Last Hedgehog, which is being released for National Hedgehog Awareness week after being a huge hit with viewers of BBC2’s Springwatch last year.

“A signed copy of the book is included with every ticket.”

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Published to mark the nation-wide campaign to raise awareness about hedgehogs, Pam’s book is a poignant farewell from the last hedgehog left on earth – a thought-provoking elegy to that most beloved inhabitant of the British countryside, the common hedgehog.

Her creation reminds readers that unless people in the UK takes steps to prevent it, hedgehogs will soon be very far from common.

Illustrated by Alice Tait, the poem sees it’s hero tell of all the terrible ends his family have come to at the hands of the British public – and exactly what can still be done to keep them alive, and see them thrive once more.

According to campaigners at Hedgehog Street the UK has lost a third of all its hedgehogs in ten years.

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Dianne Gunning, owner of independent bookshop ebb & flo, who organised the event said: “She’s a big name, we’re lucky to get her here really.

“We like to do stuff with the Little Theatre and we were looking for poets and comedians to come and perform.

“Pam happens to believe in wildlife preservation so she is going to talk about that and do a little performance. Obviously it will be quite fun.

“She doesn’t do many independent bookshops. The Little Theatre is ideal for her, she likes performing in theatres.

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“She has been touring, she’s even performed in the Sydney Opera House and she’s on BBC Radio 4 at the moment.

“Her performance will be all humour and hedgehogs. I think it will be really good.

“She’s doing a performance rather than a conversation and she will do a book signing afterwards for people who want dedications. I think it will just be a chance for people to say hello to her.

“We’re also going to have a raffle for Chorley Hedgehog Rescue Centre.”

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Chorley Hedgehog Rescue Centre, based in Cottagefields, Chorley, rescues and rehabilitates sick or injured hedgehogs to release them back into the wild, when they are back to full health. Volunteers are always in need of donations of newspapers, cat food, kitten biscuits, towels, dressing gowns and fleeces.

Pam appears regularly on TV, most recently on BBC’s Springwatch, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip and Celebrity Mastermind and is a regular on Radio 4 with Just a Minute and her new series, Ayres on Air.

She was awarded the MBE in 2004 for her services to literature and entertainment and lives in the Cotswolds with her family and numerous animals.

The event at Chorley Little Theatre takes place on Wednesday, May 9 at 6.30pm. Tickets are priced at £17 and can be bought from Ebb & Flo Bookshop 01257 262773, Malcolm’s Musicland or online at www.chorleytheatre.com and https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/483805

The Last Hedgehog, will be published by Picador on May 3.

Find out how to help save hedgehogs at https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/

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