I was helping to deliver the session at St Brides this week as Kenny is on holiday. We have a gentleman who lives with dementia and plays the fiddle (violin). It is something he loves to do, in fact I would say his whole identity is wrapped up in his love of the violin. It is brilliant hearing him play along to all the songs we sing. What he really enjoys is when he gets the chance to play a solo or two. Although the numbers at St Brides haven’t been as high the impact that it’s made for some people who may find a bigger group a struggle is clear to see.
We also had two new places to visit this week and one was Milford House. It was great fun with the group thoroughly enjoying the music together. It was a real party atmosphere as the activity organiser had arranged food and drink for everyone. I am not sure whether the drink improved the singing, but it was great fun. We were also at LifeCare this week and although we had been there once before the group is very new to us. It is also true to say that we are very new to them. It is always interesting to begin building new relationships and see how within a group some people are more open than others. Winning the confidence of people is important when trying to build a truly authentic support group and that is really what we are trying to do. It is right that this should take time and expecting people to share their life story on the first or second session is not realistic. So we will work hard and see where it takes us.
On Saturday evening John and I went to St John’s Church, where the Edinburgh City Community Brass Band were delivering their spring concert. This year the choir performing with them was a community choir called the Corstorphine Singers. They had kindly said that Forget Me Notes could do a collection at the end of their concert. Both the Band and the Choir did very well, and St John’s was packed. I am beginning to understand the reach that Forget Me Notes has within the Edinburgh community. People as they put donations in the box commented on what great work we were doing and how they had sung with Forget Me Notes in Saughton Park. It is not always easy understanding how people are receiving what we are doing but it was clear by the amount people were giving that they appreciated our work.
I must admit to having a late-night last night, as a golf fan I was watching Rory McIlroy win the Masters. His determination to win and his emotional response to winning was immense. His message to his daughter after winning was “never give up on your dreams”. I was again reminded of the great speech of Martin Luther King “I have a Dream”. Martin Luther King had given that speech several times before and its impact was nothing like the one occasion when it left a footprint upon the world. Like Rory, Martin Luther had to keep trying to deliver until such time as the way opened for the impact to be felt. Whether or not Forget Me Notes will ever make a footprint upon the world I really don’t know, but that’s not its aim. We aim to leave a footprint on the lives of those people we support and we will keep trying and showing just how much worth the people we work with have.
Hope you have a good week, speak to you next week.