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News and dates to note February 2022 We are delighted to hear that Sarah Wilson, our project leader at Band for Life, has been nominated and accepted for a Tower Hamlets Civic Award. The awards are given annually as a ‘thank you’ to people who are working to make things better in the community and improving the quality of people’s lives. "Band for Life is based on the therapeutic effects of music and on the belief that music brings people together; regardless of age, health, background, social situation, gender and ethnicity." The award ceremony was on 24 February at St George’s Town Hall in Cable Street. January 2022 We are meeting again, with care. No drop-ins yet, but it is lovely to be back together December 2021 and Christmas is coming! We have booked Friday 17th December, 2 - 3.30pm for a joint celebration with the Zacchaeus Project at Bow Rd Church. Mince Pies and a seasonal sing-along. Friends welcome - but let Sarah know, as we don't want to overcrowd the space. See you there! PS Zacchaeus sends an invitation to join them on Tuesday 21st 11.00-2pm for their Christmas get-together. (Same place!) OH, BUT WE COULD NOT SHARE THESE CELEBRATIONS IN THE END. OMECRON MADE SHARING IMPOSSIBLE AGAIN THIS CHRISTMAS! November 2021 and we are delighted to be meeting and singing together regularly again, at Bow Methodist Church. Special measures are still in place to keep us safe, but we can welcome new members - though we have over a dozen back with us now. Hooray! August 2021 Band for Life sessions have resumed… We started meeting up again (very cautiously) in May. We look forward to dusting off our vocal cords after a very long time of not using them! We still have to be careful with numbers, so for now the group won’t be a drop in session. Spaces are strictly limited. If you are interested in joining please contact Sarah to see what is currently available. Contact Sarah Wilson (Project Leader) on 07805 884185 or email bandforlifeproject@gmail.com Mental Health Awareness Week 10- 16th May 2021 This year’s theme is Nature. We know that being in nature, seeing beautiful trees and flowers and hearing lovely birdsong does us good in so many ways. This week is the perfect time to get out and about and find nature, and we’re very lucky in our area of London to have lots of green spaces to enjoy; award-winning parks, the canals and easy access to the Thames, even a green bridge! Whilst we know a walk or run ticks the box for physical exercise maybe this week is a good opportunity to focus on how it affects our mental health too. Look around you at how the trees are changing, blossom is blooming, pause and listen to the sounds of spring. If you can’t go far have a look out of the window at what’s happening in your street, I guarantee there will be something flying about or growing somewhere! The natural world is always busy, whether we are watching or not, and so as we emerge from a time of isolation and despondency, let us reflect on God’s great creation all around us, and not miss the chance to notice and draw from it. More information about Mental Health Awareness week can be found at Sarah Wilson April 2020: Band for Life members are coping as best they can, but it’s a challenge for everyone to deal with forced isolation. People are really valuing the support calls Sarah is making, keeping everyone in the loop about each other and making sure people know there is help available. With people spending a lot of time alone, it can be difficult not to watch the news too much or get drawn into the various theories and debates about how this situation has arisen; so one thing we are trying to do is to encourage people to limit the amount of news we watch and to do one nice thing for ourselves each day, as a way of trying to look after our mental health too, whilst we wash our hands and do all the things we need to protect our physical health. Band for Life at the Roof Garden for the Bloom Festivals each year: Sat 25th April 2020 we were due to perform at Canary Wharf Roof Garden with a set of well-known rock, pop and jazz tunes. Like everything else, this was cancelled. The Late Bloom festival, August 2019, ended a summer of great free community arts events curated by The Space. We put together a programme of solo numbers and welcomed plenty of audience participation in our group numbers. It’s a great space to perform in. There was a great atmosphere and lots of support shown us. One of the highlights is having to park our van down in depths of Canary Wharf, an area usually unseen by the passing shoppers, and negotiate the big loading bay lifts in our hi-vis jackets! Saturday 8th June 2019, we were back at the Canary Wharf Roof Garden to play. We are becoming a fixture! On Saturday 25th August 2018 our musicians were back at Canary Wharf , for the Late Bloom Arts Festival. We had a lunch-time slot on 2nd June (2018), at the Spring Bloom Festival performing in a very public, and very warm, arena August 2017 We performed at the Late Bloom Festival in the Crossrail Roof Garden at Canary Wharf. Members performed solo, and there were group numbers for people to join in! Watch a clip: https://youtu.be/8s3BSvglTPY Peter played jazz on the keyboard. Sweet Caroline had everyone smiling and dancing along as they passed the stage in the Gardens February 2017 Canary Wharf Group Plc confirmed a generous donation to support Band for Life in working with the local community. Here's a big thank you to Canary Wharf Group Plc from everyone at Band for Life. |
