A 12-hour music and dance marathon was held at the weekend raising more than £4,000.
The Shoe Shoe Sh’Boogie event which took place at the Shoe Factory social club in Norwich, was organised by Hannah Colby, in memory of her husband of just two weeks when he died on 29 May 2022.
Hannah (pictured in pink dress), a dance teacher, as well as a freelance writer and editor, boogied for the full 12 hours, with her friend Ali Martinez. Along with other teachers, she delivered an extravaganza of dance lessons and taster classes ranging from the Charleston and authentic swing through to the lindy hop and also including the foxtrot. There were also DJ sets, jazz routines, and live music from a number of bands with one of three bands Hannah’s husband Steve Gilmour used to drum for The Hard Working Blues Band, finishing the Shoe Shoe Sh’Boogie.
Steve discovered he had a brain tumour in September 2021 after he went for an optician’s appointment and was sent straight to A&E where he had an MRI scan. He underwent surgery to remove a 22mm tumour and had gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but in April 2022 was shocked to learn that the tumour was back and three times bigger than before.
Hannah said: “I was blown away at how amazing the event was, never imagining it would be so brilliant. We had more than 250, maybe even 300 people come along and a target to raise £2,740 – enough to sponsor a day of research in Steve’s memory, but so far, with more money coming in, the total is almost £4,200.”