At the beginning of a New Year, I was asked by someone “What do you hope for Forget Me Notes this year?” It is of course a very relevant question and one that deserves reflection. The broad response is that we must respond to the needs of those people living with dementia and their carers. The specific answer means looking at the issues surrounding what that means.
The 23rd January will see us delivering training to more music facilitators to enhance our Music Memory program. They are most definitely needed because we are getting new work regularly. Today will see two new facilitators working together at Seagrove and John and Kenny will be back at St Brides. The St Brides session is so interesting because it happens during a foodbank and reaches so many people from different cultures representing different needs. At the Christmas session we found out about Christmas in the Ukraine and in Poland, we also listened to songs sung in Chinese. This mosaic of community is a privilege to be a part of and I am certainly hoping that we can build on opportunities like these.
We have already set our vision for the Volunteer Project and that is to make our monitoring and evaluation more robust. This will enable us to hear the voices of those that use the service and respond to those things that people request of us. It will highlight what we do well and give us the opportunity to look at those areas that need improving.
Our three choirs are just a joy! On Thursday 4th January we were in Saughton Park where we had 35 people singing in the glasshouse which included people who came for the first time. Once again John graced us with a New Year’s joke, we were able to share together with stories of Christmas and the time we have spent in the last two weeks. Today will be Zoom Choir the first since New Year and it will be good to meet up with those who live in other parts of the UK.
All these services show that we are building community, using music, and challenging isolation: the aims of Forget Me Notes as a whole. Well, I suppose that remains the answer to my friend’s question, that we continue to use music to meet our aims in a way that is relevant to those who we meet.
Have a good week and see you next time.