Hello everyone and I do hope you are all staying well. How lovely it has been to read your messages (to each other and to the group) and to be in touch this week. Thank you everyone for your kindness and generosity with your time.

This week we have been asked to stop at home, (although many of us were already “stopping in”!) and we are all just getting used to that, and learning a new way of being. But WE CAN SING TOGETHER again tonight at 7.30. It is nothing fancy, it is just simply a video clip that you can click on which means that we are all listening, or singing along at the same time.

And there is power in simplicity! There is knowing that we are all there doing this thing together. There is imagining others at home singing (what lovely images that conjures up in my mind!). There is the reading of each other’s funny comments as we try. There is the kindness to ourselves as we just do what we can do.

So here, for tonight are some clips to help you feel a little calmer and more connected.

This is my YouTube channel where you will see the latest video called “Tuning in to our breath”. (NB You will also see last week’s warm up plus a few other video clips including our rehearsal for Sing for Water 2 years ago!)

Here is another song from Penny – a new one this time – but quite simple. The words are below.

And remember we have our secure and private WhatsApp group for regular members of the choir, so that we can chat to each other. If you decide to leave, you can come back again. Or alternatively you can just mute the notifications to stop it pinging all the time!

I do hope you sleep well tonight with this lovely relaxation time and lullaby from Penny.

Thank you, Janet xx

White daisies – an Appalachian song taught by Penny Stone

(NB this is a waltz and to help you, I have underlined the “down” beat at the beginning of each line)

At night when I go to my bed

I see the stars shine overhead

They are the little daisies white

That dot the meadow of the night.

And often when I’m dreaming so

Across the sky the moon will go

She is the maiden sweet and fair

Who comes to gather daisies there.

And in the morn when I arise

There’s not a star left in the sky

She’s picked them all and dropped them down

Upon the meadow of the town.

We will all be missing each other tonight I’m sure. So instead of choir we have a bit of a warm up from Janet, one of our lovely songs led here by another choir leader called Penny (she plays guitar almost as well as Karen!), and a way to link up. So…

• Here is Janet giving us some lovely warm ups – including the “Warm face warm up”.
• Here is Penny with the chorus from Somos El Barco (words below) including some correct Spanish pronunciation!
• We have our very own Whatsapp group  so that we can keep in touch. If you belong to our choir or would like to join our choir please contact us.

Somos el barco, Somos el mar

Yo navego en ti, Tu navegas en mi

We are the boat, We are the sea

I sail in you, You sail in me

The news has been very hard to hear today, and even though it is clear that only a small number of people will get this illness, we must protect anyone who is vulnerable. That of course includes several of our group, or people that they love. So it is with a heavy heart that I am letting you know that our group is cancelled until some time in April or May.

But we all know that our choir is a lot more than just the singing – we are not only a group of singers, but also a group of friends. And what do friends do – they solve problems and help each other! So, although we have now been told that we cannot meet, there are creative solutions to staying connected – for example using different online technologies, and by meeting in outdoor spaces. WE WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY THIS!

I will post very soon about an online tool that will enable us to see each other even though we are not together. We will even be able to sing together! Or at least you will be able to follow me giving you some lovely tunes, plus breathing and mindfulness exercises – all with the intention of staying in touch and staying calm! 

I am also making plans for meeting in a park or an outdoor space with the intention of learning a few songs to sing to those of you stuck at home. This could become a big thing –  singing in streets and gardens under people’s windows! Let me know if you would like to do this, or if you have any other thoughts or ideas, by contacting me on my email address janetswan11@ (then after the @ is “gmail.com”)

Also some good news from Saturday. We had already raised more than £2,500 for Water Aid at the beginning of Saturday from those who had registered online. In addition to this we raised a further £140 on Saturday (after paying for the hire of the church etc). Thank you all so much for your support.

NB Subscriptions – With regard to those of you who have already paid your subs for the forthcoming 6 weeks, I will be in touch individually.

Tues 10 March – message from Janet  

Unfortunately I am poorly with a cold so we are having to cancel tonight’s choir. It is definitely just a cold and not anything else so I am OK, but don’t want to pass it on to anone.  A decision will be made very soon regarding Saturday. The other two choir leaders can go ahead without me, but these are strange times. Please check Sing for Water North’s website for any  updates. Un the meantime let’s go on supporting each other at this time or in other words – Stay calm and Keep singing! 

Updates for Sing forWater here https://singforwaternorth.wordpress.com/news/

The spread of the Covid 19 virus is just starting to happen, and I think for everyone’s sakes we just need to err on the side of caution. We should of course meet as usual, life goes on, and for 80% of people this virus is not serious.

However, for the remaining 20% it is more serious, so to protect them, I am asking those who have cold-like symptoms (especially if you have a temperature and a cough) not to attend until you feel better – some of you would do this in any case, but the choice is not usually so crucial.  I do usually err on the side of encouraging people not to come to choirs with colds etc, but now I would definitely advise you not to, especially if you have significant cold symptoms or have been to any of the countries where the virus has spread rapidly or in touch with anyone who has.

I am trying to follow the advice to wash hands regularly and thoroughly, (for 20-30 seconds, or the time it takes you to sing “Happy Birthday” twice !!) especially as I move from place to place, or have had any interaction with others, and will continue to do this.

Best wishes to all – stay well – this will pass!

Don’t forget that there’s no choir this week but you can still go ahead with registration for Sing for Water by following the link https://singforwaternorth.wordpress.com/registrations/

We’ll be back next week, 3rd March, for another 6 weeks (block subscriptions acceptable again if that’s suitable).

Meantime, keep singing!