All  Photographs Brian Tarr

Consisting of people living with dementia and their carers, the Chorus held a free concert in the Centre prior to Welsh National Opera’s production of Khovanschina. I’ve no idea what the opera was like, but they could have learned a thing or two from this group.

It was brief, less than half a dozen numbers, interspersed with poems, but if the quantity was low, the quality was high. Showing a repertoire that went from ‘You Are My Sunshine’ to ‘Under The Boardwalk’ via Elvis, they were not technically brilliant, but brought a ‘joie de vivre’ to things that many professionals can’t manage.

I must confess that there was a tear in my eye watching them, especially one member wearing African dress & cap, who danced his heart out in every number.
There was a smile on my face too, and the crowd – quite a sizeable one – loved it. My favourite moment was watching a young mother dancing with her baby to Under The Boardwalk. Simply wonderful.

This event was the launch of the new #MySongMyStory project.

You could find out more about the work of The Foget me Not Chorus at the link