Everyone who has ever sung Happy Birthday, joined in a football chant, or sung a Christmas carol knows that singing makes you feel good!
If you have dementia, singing may also be something you can still do really well and with as much enjoyment as ever.
Come Singing groups offer a welcome break from the isolation which dementia can bring. You’ll find great songs of all kinds – favourites from the musicals, standards, folk and traditional – and musical activities to stimulate and make you feel alive.
Sessions are relaxed, sociable and a bit anarchic – not like school or hymn practice! Simply singing with other people is a great boost to self-confidence and well-being.
Groups are not just for those of us with dementia: family and carers are very welcome, and there are volunteers on hand to provide support.
All the groups are run under the auspices of a recognised charity, health provider and Norfolk Library Service.
Music is a gift beyond words, but if we live with dementia it can also be a vital lifeline to happiness.
Those of you who were singing with us on Tuesday 14th April will know that the Millennium Library is having a big makeover in the next few months. This means that arrangements for singing will be different for a while, but the library has been amazingly kind in hiring The Gallery in the Forum for us as often as it can, so that we can sing in the same familiar building. The Gallery is on the left as you come in, just before the BBC and the loos. The time will be a bit later – 11.30 – 12.30 – and the pattern of dates not always the 2nd and 4th Tuesday, but we’ll remind you before each session. We are very grateful to the library for going to such lengths to help us keep singing!
****Earlham Library singing will be as normal on Friday April 17th, May 15th and June 19th at 11.15.
If you have any questions, do please email or ring me on 01603 452404.
So…
April
The big move happens on April 27th and 28th, so we’ll need to cancel our late April session.
May
Our next chance to meet and sing will be at the NNUH Dementia Fayre on Thursday, 14th May between 10am and 4pm in the central East Atrium of the hospital. It’s a lovely relaxed drop-in event and you can come at any time, alone or in gangs, to drink tea, eat cake, look at the stalls and provide gentle background music for other visitors. There’s a gorgeous piano and we’ll make sure there are songbooks…
Our first time at The Gallery will be on Tuesday, May 19th 11.30 -12.30. We’ll make sure there are people around at the door in case you’re in any doubt about where to come!
June – 3 sessions – one more than in the original letter
At The Gallery Tuesday, June 2nd, Tuesday, June 16th and Tuesday 23rrd at 11.30 -12.30
It’ll be a bit of an adventure but worth it in the end for the posh new library space! Thank you to the library for making sure that we can all keep singing while they themselves battle to keep normal services going!
So, we hope to see you in May and throughout the summer.
Keep well, and with best wishes and love from Come Singing
In June Come Singing was again part of the NatWest bank’s Dementia Awareness event: a chance to talk to customers about the singing groups and Music Mirrors. We took a keyboard, so there was music (and some singing!) throughout the day.
We really appreciate Norwich NatWest’s help and support and their kind hospitality – they make us feel extremely welcome and don’t seem to mind the disruption we cause!
We’re still also keeping in touch via regular newsletters by post or email. These include music-themed poems, quizzes, pictures and news items to raise spirits and ‘Keep your hopes alive’ (hence Keyhole!) Please click on the link below to open up and enjoy.
We’ve loved being back in action at the Millennium Library in Norwich, and now Norfolk Library Service has kindly offered us a third monthly sing, at Earlham Library on Colman Road.
Sessions are held on the 3rd Friday of each month at 11.15 -12.15. There’s a bus stop nearby, good parking behind the library, ramped access and it’s a friendly welcoming place, with tea and coffee on hand at the end if you’d like!
The library only opens at 11.00, so be careful not to turn up too early (unless your library ticket has Open Access – easy to obtain.)
Everyone is welcome and of course it’s free – do come and join us if you’re in the neighbourhood!
Hope to see you there!
Those of you who were singing with us on Tuesday 14th April will know that the Millennium Library is having a big makeover in the next few months. This means that arrangements for singing will be different for a while, but the library has been amazingly kind in hiring The Gallery in the Forum for […]