Joan’s Story
Singing together with others with similar conditions has been great – especially during lockdown. You don’t have to leave your home and go out in the cold – and you’re still able to meet up with friends and sing together and have fun. Even though we’re online it doesn’t inhibit us. We all have to ‘mute’ when we sing a song together because of the time lag, but we can still see each other moving to the rhythm of the music, and we chat before and after each song. So in a way it is ideal for those who aren’t confident about the sound of their voice as no-one can hear them!
The small group chats give us an opportunity to be open with each other – we all get a chance to say how we are feeling. It provides a structure to the week and the Zoom sessions feel like we’re inviting others into our own homes, at a time when we are unable to do that in person. In many ways I prefer meeting online as it decreases the risk of infection
Jane, our song leader, is always looking to broaden our horizons, by adding new songs and exercises and meeting up with singers from Cambridge and the Forest of Dean online – there’s no way we would be going down there!
My daughter was right. I wouldn’t be without the singing now. I never thought of myself as a singer but using my lungs in this way has made such a difference to me.