Concert celebrates anniversary of Bristol's welcome to Polish families

A concert is to be held at the Polish Church in Bristol next month to celebrate the 60 years of friendship and support shown to Polish people who have settled in the city since World War II.

Polish parish priest Zygmunt Fraczek and former Honorary Consul George Peszynski have organised the concert on November 20 which will feature a Polish mezzo-soprano, tenor soloist, bass baritone, a guest artist from Warsaw and a British concert pianist.

They are dedicating the event to the city of Bristol and its people "in appreciation of the friendship, support, kindness and understanding over the past 60 years."

Mr Peszynski, 73, of Henleaze, became honorary consul in 1998 serving Bristol and the former Avon area. He has helped organise aid missions to his native country and has been honoured with an MBE and a papal knighthood.

The Lord Lieutenant of Bristol Mary Prior, the High Sheriff of Bristol, Dr Timothy Chambers, and the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Chris Davies, will be guests of honour at the concert in the Polish Church in Cheltenham Road at 7pm followed by a reception in the church hall. Proceeds from tickets and donations will be divided between the Lord Mayor's Christmas Appeal for Children and a children's home in Iwonicz-Zdroj, Poland, run by Felicjan nuns who worked in the Polish parish in Bristol in the early Eighties.