THE Spirit of Christmas will be returning to Christ Church, Oxford, which is to host a special fundraising event for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign for the second year running.

The evening of music, festive carols and readings is being held on Wednesday, December 2, at 7.45pm and this year will feature the classical baritone singer Alexei Kalveks, fresh from his UK-wide tour with the acclaimed mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins.

The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has held a series of Spirit of Christmas events at some of Britain’s most beautiful places of worship and came to Oxford for the first time last Christmas, with the event raising almost £6,000 for the charity.

The Oxford Times will again be sponsoring the event, which will be hosted by the actor and television personality Matthew Kelly. Readings will be given by Emily Bruni, whose television appearances include Marple and more recently The Peep Show; Tracey Childs who played opposite Matthew Kelly in Edward Albee’s Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Simon Williams of Upstairs, Downstairs fame; and Lucy Fleming best known for her role in the 1970s BBC drama Survivors.

The evening will also feature the choir from Oxford’s Dragon School. Guests will include the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Lord Mayor Mary Clarkson, along with Professor Dame Kay Davies, whose team at Oxford University has been prominent in the development of treatments to fight the muscle wasting disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which affects one in 3,500 male births.

The first candle will be lit by Laura Merry, 21, of Worminghall. Both she and her identical twin sister Judith suffer from congenital muscular dystrophy.

Laura and her sister are national ambassadors for Trailblazers, a network of more than 100 young people,who raise awareness of issues affecting young disabled people.

She was chosen to talk at the network’s launch in a House of Commons committee room two years ago.

Laura said: “Being involved with Trailblazers means I get to campaign on things that matter to me and other young people. We have been working on a number of reports and surveys covering education and leisure facilities.”

Recently she has been involved in an undercover investigation into transport and university access for disabled people.

Laura said: “I’m greatly looking forward to being at Christ Church. Unfort- unately, my sister will not be able to attend with me because she is at university in Keele.”

As youngsters, both sisters were familiar figures at Helen House, and attend Douglas House, which provides respite care for young adults. Tickets for the Spirit of Christmas event range from £10 to £40 for Platinum tickets, which include priority seating and a post-concert champagne reception with the chance to meet the special guests.

For tickets or to find out more, contact 020 7803 4828 or email christchurch@muscular-dystrophy.org