music lover Marie Blackett was so keen to see her favourite diva in a charity concert that she booked a pair of up-market seats - a year in advance.
Opera singer Lesley Garrett is due to play the outdoor show at Durham County Cricket Club's ground on September 16, with the Northern Sinfonia.
When Marie, of Spennymoor, County Durham, heard the news, she booked a hospitality table for herself and a friend at the Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, last September.
Her reservation, a birthday gift for her friend Pat Allison, from Sunderland, put her first in the queue for places in the club's hospitality suites at the fund raising event, which is being organised by the Durham and Northumberland committee of the Lord's Taverners.
Spenser Mullins, of the Lord Taverners, met Marie to present her with the tickets at her home.
Hospitality packages are still available and are priced from £70 per head. Tickets for the grassed area are also available, at £18.50. Call 0191-401 8888. A booking fee applies.
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