THE widow of television presenter Roy Castle will talk about

her husband's battle with lung cancer as part of this year's

Melbourne Festival.

Fiona Castle was invited by Churches Together for two free

talks during the 17-day event, which kicks off on Friday and

includes music, literature, comedy and arts and crafts.

Despite never smoking, Mr Castle died in 1994 from lung

cancer. Since his death, Mrs Castle has worked with the Roy

Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and was a key figure in banning

smoking in public.

She has written books about her experiences, including

Cancer's a Word, Not a Sentence and Rainbows Through The

Rain.

She will give the talks at the Bill Shone Leisure Centre, in

High Street, at 2pm and 7.30pm on Tuesday, September 9.

The Rev Philip Webb, of Churches Together in Derbyshire,

said: "Fiona is a well-known, well travelled Christian speaker.

She is a speaker, who despite the sadness of her past, is a

real joy to hear."

Last year's Melbourne Festival attracted more than 4,000

people and organisers are hoping that figure will be

topped.

Thanks for the Memory, a 10-piece band, kicks off the event

at Melbourne Liberal Club Public Hall, in Derby Road, with

Ragged Company playing at the Lamb Inn, in High Street.

Other highlights include a talk by the former deputy leader

of the Labour Party, Roy Hattersley, a production of the Merry

Wives of Henry VIII and the debut screening of Melbourne-based

director Steve Dunhill's Second Chances?

It culminates in an arts trail weekend on September 13 and

14.

Artist Neil Clarke, 67, will be showcasing his work in

Castle Street this year.

He said: "I'm looking forward to the festival. Contemporary

and abstract art is very popular and that is what the festival

is trying to offer."

The festival finale will include a concert by Melbourne Male

Voice Choir and Concordia Classica from Germany.

Full details are available at

www.melbournefestival.co.uk.

Tickets can be booked by calling the festival booking office

on 07765 819428.

Click on the button to share this story with a

friend

"addthis_url = location.href; addthis_title = document.title; return addthis_click(this);"

target="_blank">

"http://s9.addthis.com/button1-addthis.gif" width="125" height=

"16" border="0" alt="Bookmark and Share">