It was wonderful.. an extraordinary experience and one that she intends to repeat weekly.
She was early, it is always better to be early when you are 'a new girl', isn't it? But there were already a couple of people there. One, an extremely elderly lady, dressed in different shades of dark pink.. the colour looked very fetching with her snowy white hair. Her son was with her and explained that his mum didn't communicate very much any more but that she could sing.
Then lots of people arrived, the organisers Mary and Janice and her friend Susan with things for tea, games and a CD player. They were in the dining room of a retirement home, the tables were moved back to the walls and she and another woman, Ann, made a ring of the chairs.
The meeting was led by Janice and she was so clever at getting everyone sitting and paying attention, some were people with dementia, some were their carers and some were volunteers.
A small furry tiger appeared out of a box and Janice said "Right, now he is going around the room, I want you to give us your name and then I want you to give it a name, off we go. My name is Janice and I am calling him Snowy" and the fun commenced.
He was a very cuddly person and a couple of people certainly didn't want to pass him on, it is a testament to their carers that no tears were shed before bedtime.
Next were simple excercises done in the chair, clapping to a beat and a number. Touch this, touch that, then faster and faster.. to lots of laughter! Then standing up, those that could, touching knees (or toes), waving arms, punching the air, it got them moving and warmed up.
Then it was singing time.. everyone was given sheets of paper.. and oh.. happy days! For the first was Hugo's favourite song! 'You are my sunshine'.. there are somewhere in existence some photographs taken of Hugo taking a salute on the parade ground at Port Dixon. It was 'fixed' by the Regimental Bandmaster and the Colonel.
For Hugo was leaving Malaya at the end of the (Communist) Emergency and going to England and civilian life. His colonel knew this was going to be a massive challenge and change for him.
Hugo joined up in 1939 aged nineteen, he was at the Slade (Art School) when war was declared and he had never known any other work life apart from the Army. And his colonel decided that his last parade would be a little different.. To say the least!
Parade duty time, suddenly Hugo is told that he is going to be taking the Salute and the regimental band swang into action with 'Sunshine' and according to her God-Father, Sydney Butterell, who had taught the tune to the Malay bandmaster, there weren't many dry eyes amongst the audience and none amongst his company of Eban Trackers with whom Hugo had spent nearly seven years in the jungle.
If you know the song or read the lyrics, you realise that it is not a happy song but the tune is great and The Malay Regiment did her father and the tune proud. As did all of the singers yesterday!
The glorious power of music.. they sang twelve songs and there was a huge difference in many of the attendees, they sat up straighter and a few that had not spoken before the singing started to chat, some of the volunteers had been asked to bring photographs of when they were children and there was lots of laughter.
Tea time.. goody.. who doesn't like teatime? And then it was time for card, dominoes and board games. It was great to see people who have forgotten who they are but they remember how to play a game from their childhood..
Memory and memories and the brain.. I am going to tell you a story from 1970 about Flo, her grandmother, Constance and Hugo. Flo was in a residental home as she had been diagnosed with Pre-Senile Dementia. and had to have some fairly heavy duty medication.
They were in Flo's bedroom as she was going to bed after a long day, Constance went out to speak with Matron and Flo patted Hugo's knee and said "Hugo darling, who is that, for she is very sweet." Luckily Hugo was not slow on the uptake, so he just said "Flo darling, it's Con" (what her mother called her), to which Flo replied "No darling, don't be silly, that can't be right, Con's at school in England".
What was so extraordinary about this conversation was that Granny Flo knew who Hugo was, as she had known who she was when she had visited her grandmother two weeks previously and yet, where Con was concerned.. I am afraid, she had lost the plot.
There were other 'bit's missing too but she loved to sing and still played the piano. Constance had given her a Putter and she remembered exactly how to hit that golf ball. She'd been 'Scratch'.
So Dear Readers.. get up and dance and sing and jump about, get old foggy brain working, don't let it slouch in front of the television or a glass of whisky, make it learn a new trick or two. Nobody knows IF they will develop Dementia.. or when? The reason this is SUCh a big thing with her is Flo had it, Constance was showing signs of it when she died.. is it hereditary, she wonders?
So now she know where she'll be on Friday afternoons.. Singing With Dementia.. do YOU like to sing, is there a Dementia Centre which has a 'Singing Afternoon' near to you? Do you know of someone who has Dementia who used to sing that you know that would like to join a group.
Does your church choir allow people into the church when they're rehearsing?
In England please contact The Alzheimers Society.
www.alzheimers.org.uk
Tel: 020 7423 3500.
You can find Dementia and Alzheimers Groups everywhere in the world, so do your research.
And please be pro-active on this subject, for the difference that music AND contact with other people is enormous. Some elderly, or not even elderly, folk are infirm or timid and never leave their homes, some are lonely and shy, or with no family and live by themselves,
DO WHAT YOU CAN TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES BETTER.
And now that brings me to me. For Janice, one of the organisers, it transpires is CRAZY-DAISY about birds! And she is going to suggest that I go Singing with Dementia, well, I can whistle and bob about with the best of them and that WILL make them laugh.
That, my Dear Readers, is quite enough for one day.. I am sorry to report that she was not able to do the 'mercy run' this morning. Many jowly-bows will have to be made.. but at least the other person didn't know she was planning to do it.
Teatime.. LapySang with some of that chocolate salami would be perfect. FlapFlap to YumYum HQ.
GeeGee Parrot.
February 7th, 2015.
She was early, it is always better to be early when you are 'a new girl', isn't it? But there were already a couple of people there. One, an extremely elderly lady, dressed in different shades of dark pink.. the colour looked very fetching with her snowy white hair. Her son was with her and explained that his mum didn't communicate very much any more but that she could sing.
Then lots of people arrived, the organisers Mary and Janice and her friend Susan with things for tea, games and a CD player. They were in the dining room of a retirement home, the tables were moved back to the walls and she and another woman, Ann, made a ring of the chairs.
The meeting was led by Janice and she was so clever at getting everyone sitting and paying attention, some were people with dementia, some were their carers and some were volunteers.
A small furry tiger appeared out of a box and Janice said "Right, now he is going around the room, I want you to give us your name and then I want you to give it a name, off we go. My name is Janice and I am calling him Snowy" and the fun commenced.
He was a very cuddly person and a couple of people certainly didn't want to pass him on, it is a testament to their carers that no tears were shed before bedtime.
Next were simple excercises done in the chair, clapping to a beat and a number. Touch this, touch that, then faster and faster.. to lots of laughter! Then standing up, those that could, touching knees (or toes), waving arms, punching the air, it got them moving and warmed up.
Then it was singing time.. everyone was given sheets of paper.. and oh.. happy days! For the first was Hugo's favourite song! 'You are my sunshine'.. there are somewhere in existence some photographs taken of Hugo taking a salute on the parade ground at Port Dixon. It was 'fixed' by the Regimental Bandmaster and the Colonel.
For Hugo was leaving Malaya at the end of the (Communist) Emergency and going to England and civilian life. His colonel knew this was going to be a massive challenge and change for him.
Hugo joined up in 1939 aged nineteen, he was at the Slade (Art School) when war was declared and he had never known any other work life apart from the Army. And his colonel decided that his last parade would be a little different.. To say the least!
Parade duty time, suddenly Hugo is told that he is going to be taking the Salute and the regimental band swang into action with 'Sunshine' and according to her God-Father, Sydney Butterell, who had taught the tune to the Malay bandmaster, there weren't many dry eyes amongst the audience and none amongst his company of Eban Trackers with whom Hugo had spent nearly seven years in the jungle.
If you know the song or read the lyrics, you realise that it is not a happy song but the tune is great and The Malay Regiment did her father and the tune proud. As did all of the singers yesterday!
The glorious power of music.. they sang twelve songs and there was a huge difference in many of the attendees, they sat up straighter and a few that had not spoken before the singing started to chat, some of the volunteers had been asked to bring photographs of when they were children and there was lots of laughter.
Tea time.. goody.. who doesn't like teatime? And then it was time for card, dominoes and board games. It was great to see people who have forgotten who they are but they remember how to play a game from their childhood..
Memory and memories and the brain.. I am going to tell you a story from 1970 about Flo, her grandmother, Constance and Hugo. Flo was in a residental home as she had been diagnosed with Pre-Senile Dementia. and had to have some fairly heavy duty medication.
They were in Flo's bedroom as she was going to bed after a long day, Constance went out to speak with Matron and Flo patted Hugo's knee and said "Hugo darling, who is that, for she is very sweet." Luckily Hugo was not slow on the uptake, so he just said "Flo darling, it's Con" (what her mother called her), to which Flo replied "No darling, don't be silly, that can't be right, Con's at school in England".
What was so extraordinary about this conversation was that Granny Flo knew who Hugo was, as she had known who she was when she had visited her grandmother two weeks previously and yet, where Con was concerned.. I am afraid, she had lost the plot.
There were other 'bit's missing too but she loved to sing and still played the piano. Constance had given her a Putter and she remembered exactly how to hit that golf ball. She'd been 'Scratch'.
So Dear Readers.. get up and dance and sing and jump about, get old foggy brain working, don't let it slouch in front of the television or a glass of whisky, make it learn a new trick or two. Nobody knows IF they will develop Dementia.. or when? The reason this is SUCh a big thing with her is Flo had it, Constance was showing signs of it when she died.. is it hereditary, she wonders?
So now she know where she'll be on Friday afternoons.. Singing With Dementia.. do YOU like to sing, is there a Dementia Centre which has a 'Singing Afternoon' near to you? Do you know of someone who has Dementia who used to sing that you know that would like to join a group.
Does your church choir allow people into the church when they're rehearsing?
In England please contact The Alzheimers Society.
www.alzheimers.org.uk
Tel: 020 7423 3500.
You can find Dementia and Alzheimers Groups everywhere in the world, so do your research.
And please be pro-active on this subject, for the difference that music AND contact with other people is enormous. Some elderly, or not even elderly, folk are infirm or timid and never leave their homes, some are lonely and shy, or with no family and live by themselves,
DO WHAT YOU CAN TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES BETTER.
And now that brings me to me. For Janice, one of the organisers, it transpires is CRAZY-DAISY about birds! And she is going to suggest that I go Singing with Dementia, well, I can whistle and bob about with the best of them and that WILL make them laugh.
That, my Dear Readers, is quite enough for one day.. I am sorry to report that she was not able to do the 'mercy run' this morning. Many jowly-bows will have to be made.. but at least the other person didn't know she was planning to do it.
Teatime.. LapySang with some of that chocolate salami would be perfect. FlapFlap to YumYum HQ.
GeeGee Parrot.
February 7th, 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment