Kosmik Overdrive Concert, March 2005
Below is the report of the concert performed by Kosmik Overdrive to raise funds for our cause.
SOUNDS of the late 1970s and early 80s filled the Royal Oak in Wotton-under-Edge on Friday when punk rockers Kosmik Overdrive took to the stage.
The gig was in aid of the North Nibley Romania Team, and the £227 raised will be
used to help patients at a remote psychiatric hospital north of the city of
Brasov in the former Eastern Bloc nation.
Richard Kelsey, Craig Pepperell and Dave Griffiths performed tracks from groups
as diverse as the Sham 69, the Sex Pistols and Jilted John, along with a
stunning rendition of the Department S number 'Is Vic There?' to a packed pub.
The North Nibley Romania Team was formed in the early 1990s and has focused its
efforts on the former coal mining community of Mina 1 Mai (meaning the Mine of
the First of May), which is home to a run-down psychiatric hospital. Around 150
patients suffering from schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, depression, learning
difficulties and alcoholism are housed in a building which was once the offices
of the coal mining operation. During the past decade the charity has
steadily worked to repair the fabric of the building, as well as providing
toiletries, disinfectants and even shoes for the patients.
Romania's precarious economy dictates that state funds for the hospital are
limited - many see it as being at 'the end of the line' both in terms of its
geographical location, nestling in the Carpathian Mountains, and as a place
where patients are sent when treatment in the larger city hospitals is deemed to
be ineffective.
The charity relies on people's generosity to help it continue its work. Every
penny raised is spent where needed, as the charity has no operating costs and is
run by a small but enthusiastic group of volunteers scattered throughout the
country.
In April a survey team of four will make final measurements and decisions on
this summer's project, the renovation of the hospital's kitchen.
In addition, a new industrial washing machine will be installed in May, thanks
to £6,500 raised through donations, to replace the existing unreliable and
inefficient machine, which struggles to cope with the laundry from 150 patients.
The charity welcomes new members, and details of its work can be found at
www.nnrt.co.uk.