"Golden-Oldies" - brightening up everyone's life
By Jayne Warren - 05/09/2008
To coincide with Elder Care Week, the Golden-Oldies Charity are reminding people how music can really brighten up the lives of those living sheltered housing - with free sing-song sessions to golden hits of the 1960s '70s and '80s. And they now have a DVD to prove it!
Golden-Oldies founder, Grenville Jones - also the founder conductor of the City of Bath Male Choir - said: "Its only nine months since we launched as a pilot scheme in Bath and North East Somerset, but are now deluged with requests.
"Golden-Oldies has received massive media coverage - the BBC National
6 0’clock News, News 24, the World Service and Sky. And film crews from the UK, Canada and Germany have visited Bath to report on their success story. There are now 12 sessions taking place each week across Bath & North East Somerset, and a regular monthly "Big Sing" at the Bath Pavilion brings over 200 each month."
In the last two months, Swindon Borough Council, South Gloucestershire Council, North Somerset Council as well as a number of District Councils in Somerset have also committed support to Goldies, which means that by the end of 2009 there will be approximately 60 weekly "Goldies" sessions across the West of England.
Greville continued: "Hardly a day goes by without an email or telephone call asking “please can we have a Goldies session near us?
And as we develop, we want to hear from people who would like to train as session takers. This is a hugely worthwhile experience, the sessions are during the day and a remuneration is paid per one hour session.
"You certainly don't need to be a choir conductor, far from it. We want people who love to sing and have the personality and a strong voice to lead a singing session. Perhaps they might be young rock musicians who have daytimes available and love their Nans!"
So far the funding has come from a number of sources, including Tesco, Bupa Care Homes and HSBC.
To find out more about Golden-Oldies, call 01761 470006, or visit the website linked below. The DVD, which lasts 4 minutes is also available on the website, you can order a copy, by emailing: