In this bi-centenary year of Herne Hill resident John Ruskin, the Herne Hill Music Festival is hoping to include a musical based on Ruskin’s only children’s story in its programme.

Professional composer Paul Ayres plans to turn The King of the Golden River by Ruskin (recently republished by Thames & Hudson with wonderful illustrations by Quentin Blake) into a musical to be performed by St Saviour’s Primary School.

However, they need, quite rightly,  to pay a fee to the composer, and there are other costs of production as well.

The Festival organisers have already had generous support from the Herne Hill Society and  other business sponsors, but they are still short of £350.

So there’s a fund-raising campaign

If you can help celebrate John Ruskin and give the young performers from St Saviour’s the unforgettable experience of taking part in a musical, have a look at the fund-raising page and perhaps consider making a donation.