FOR most teenage girls, getting up and singing in front of a packed audience would be a dream come true.

But for 13-year-old Elysia Timms, a performance in her school’s talent contest meant so much more.

Barely a week before her moment in the spotlight, the Burford School pupil lost her father to a stroke.

Determined to do him proud, the young singer dedicated her Star for a Night performance to father Andrew, singing a tune she sang to him at his hospital bedside.

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She said: “I was really nervous about performing, and I wished that he was there.

“In a way he was there with me, and I got to sing the song to him in hospital. In a way he was there with me on stage.”

Mr Timms, a gardener, suffered a stroke on October 24.

Oxford Mail:

  • Andrew Timms

The 53-year-old was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, for treatment, but he died five days later.

After Mr Timms passed away, Elysia persevered with rehearsing for the contest and dedicated her performance of Bulletproof by La Roux to her father.

Elysia’s mother, 54-year-old Carolyn Timms, said: “When Elysia realised that he probably wouldn’t make it because of the damage the stroke had caused to his brain, she decided to sing the song that she was going to sing on Star for the Night for him.

“She hoped it would wake him up. She would have loved him just to tell her to ‘shut up’ because she sings all the time.”

When Elysia took to the stage for the Star for a Night competition on November 18, she left the audience in floods of tears.

Winner of the contest, 15-year-old Jade Henderson, said: “She was absolutely amazing.

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  • Jade Henderson

“She has such a beautiful voice and it was really moving when she dedicated the song to her dad.

“Everyone was in tears. It took a lot of courage to do that.”

Mother-of-eight Mrs Timms said: “I was very proud of Elysia and it was lovely to see her singing.

“It’s such a shame that Andrew wasn’t there.”

Elysia, who will be studying for her GCSEs next year, plans to continue her passion for music and singing.

She said: “I do love singing, but I’d also like to do stuff with gardening as well, as my dad was a gardener.”


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