This week we held our first team meeting with four employees. We have another five freelance music facilitators but direct employees we now have four. It felt as though we were beginning to build a new team. Having a new person will always change the dynamics as they bring their experience and personality to their role. It is great to have Libby as our new administrator and it is good to see her skills already impacting upon the services we run. Having a face-to-face meeting was good, for while working without a base saves on costs it is not always easy being seen as a part of a team. I am looking forward in the New Year to build an effective team across all aspects of the project and this week was a good start.
Another opportunity for me this week was to attend the Cross-Party Music Group at the Parliament. They always have a live performer and in this session we had two. One playing accordion and the other guitar. They were both outstanding in their particular genre ( I think that’s the word I am looking for) and it gave a good foundation to consider the impact that music has upon us all. Imagine my disappointment when Education was spoken about and how the cuts that are imminent will mean music playing a lesser part in our children’s curriculum. I have never been known for sitting quiet when things are troubling me. I process things out loud which I know for some people can be irritating. We are all different, so I spoke out and asked my question. I referred to studies that show that those who are exposed to Music are likely to achieve more than those who are deprived of this opportunity. I know from my own experience of school life just how much music did for me. I struggled through school and found English to be a nightmare, however having the chance to excel in music gave me a sense of worth and the ability to survive when teachers really had no understanding of the issues I faced. It was good to hear that my first question was not considered as poor because the chairperson said “Thank you for a good question and something I must keep in mind”. I could settle down, listen to the meeting and realised what it must be like for a new MSP or MP to speak in such surroundings.
The rest of my week has been spent in delivering Music Memories and looking for funding opportunities. It was good to get into the chore of our work and realise that while discussions may take place in the corridors of power, the real corridors of power lie in the Care Homes, Day Centres, Bandstands and wherever else people are being supported to express themselves.
My daughter was wearing a T-shirt with the words “Be your best self”. My initial reaction was to think how good is that, I like that. I reflected further on the word best and who decides? We all share different thoughts and evaluations of what is best, it’s why I always smile when I hear people say, “We have to get this right”. I haven’t yet discovered what doing things right really means. We take the situation we are in, and we do our best with what we have at that time. The beauty is that for those who love us it is always good enough. My ambition is to enable those living with dementia to be a version of themselves that brings them and those who love them a living identity of the spirit they have always shown.
Don’t b Flat,
Don’t b Sharp,
B natural