Youngsters from two Wrexham schools teamed up with care home residents for a sing-along party which brought together several generations.<\/p>\n
Floral garlands, extravagant sunglasses and loud shirts were the order of the day for the 63 residents living at Pendine Park\u2019s Hillbury Care Home in Wrexham for the tropical themed event.<\/p>\n
They were joined at the intergenerational dementia workshop by residents from the adjoining Gwern Alyn care home and pupils from St Mary\u2019s Catholic Primary School\u00a0 and St Christopher’s School.<\/p>\n
For more than an hour the children and residents joined in the singing which was led by professional singer Emyr Gibson, the creative practitioner at Bryn Seiont Newydd, Pendine’s care home catering for people living with dementia on the outskirts of Caernarfon.<\/p>\n
The efforts of the children and residents lifted Emyr’s singing.<\/p>\n
“I had been working with some children the previous day and I was struggling with my voice but the response was great and really carried me along.<\/p>\n
“It is very rewarding to see young and old working together in such harmony,” he said.<\/p>\n
Emyr sang a variety of popular songs in both Welsh and English and several, including Hands, Knees and Toes which has hand movements and the children were quick to help residents join in.<\/p>\n
Ten-year-old Alexa helped resident Irene Jarvis in the song and said later: “It’s a good song and it’s fun and I was happy to help out.”<\/p>\n
Her friends Noah and Henry were also quick to help resident Gareth Davies join in the singing when Emyr belted out veteran folk singer Dafydd Iwan’s iconic song, Yma o Hyd, that\u2019s become an anthem sung at rugby and football international matches by the crowds.<\/p>\n
The 74-year-old former Wrexham and Wales international footballer raised his arm in triumph during the chorus.<\/p>\n
Ruth Edwards, teacher at St Mary\u2019s Catholic Primary School in Lea Road, Wrexham, said the school has a special relationship with the Hillbury care home.<\/p>\n
“For the past three years or so we have been visiting regularly. Perhaps not as often as we would like recently but we keep in touch and the children will ask when are we going to visit again.<\/p>\n
“They really enjoy the visits and enjoy chatting with the residents and get to know them. Some of the children visit Hillbury at weekends with their parents and others have raised money to buy things for Hillbury,” she said.<\/p>\n
Three pupils from St Christopher’s School, which provides education for pupils aged six to 19 years who have a range of complex learning and educational needs, also travelled to Hillbury to join in the fun.<\/p>\n
It was the first time the school had visited the care home and the pupils said they enjoyed themselves “very much”.<\/p>\n
Faye Jones said she had enjoyed the singing and her friend Jasmine Roberts had liked playing the percussion instruments.<\/p>\n
Emyr’s singing brought a tear to the eyes of husband and wife Brian and Wendy Smith when he sang The Wonder of You, a song recorded by Elvis Presley half a century ago.<\/p>\n
They smiled and held hands when Emyr sang two more Elvis songs later.<\/p>\n
Afterwards Wendy said they were both fervent Elvis fans and had visited Memphis and enjoyed walking around Gracelands where Elvis lived until his untimely death in 1977.<\/p>\n
“Brian will often speak about that trip and their visit to Elvis’ home,” said Hillbury deputy manager Patsy Swift.<\/p>\n
Emyr was accompanied on the piano by Nia Davies Williams, Pendine\u2019s musician in residence, who\u2019s widely recognised as a leading authority on the use of music in dementia care.<\/p>\n
She said: “When our memories fail us and the words are hard to find, there is always music and that lovely feeling when the words flow to a favourite song.<\/p>\n
“It was a wonderful intergenerational event at Hillbury and one I’m sure everyone enjoyed themselves.”<\/p>\n
Pendine Park\u2019s artist in residence, Sarah Edwards, said music is one of the most therapeutic activities for residents.<\/p>\n
“All our residents love a good sing-along and they can\u2019t wait to join in.<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic is such a communicator. Even those residents who struggle with forming a conversational sentence will join in the singing with no difficulty. It is like it taps into a different part of the brain and several of them recall the lyrics by heart.<\/p>\n
“We love to hear them belt out a good tune and the beaming smiles on their faces as they join in is heart-warming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cindy Clutton, who manages the Hillbury and Gwern Alyn homes, added: \u201cMusic is one of the most positive forms of enjoyment and wellbeing therapy we have.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese sessions have a real feel good factor and not only does it help them exercise their voices, but it also makes us all feel fitter emotionally too. These really are songs for life.\u201d<\/p>\n