A Poem (or song!) by Mike Chambers, Volunteer at Totland Alzheimer Café

Happy Wednesdays
(try it to the tune of The Irish Rover by The Pogues!)

It’s on Wednesdays we meet for our musical treat when we warm up by waving our arms.
Then as one happy crowd we all sing soft or loud to tunes that just ain’t Liszt or Brahms.
We do songs from the shows, ones that everyone knows, while the words on the screen are our guide
to a really joyful din, maybe Irving Berlin
or some other composer we’ve tried.

From Oliver to Les Mis we pick songs from show biz
that we know how to sing from our hearts.
To arouse us from our slumbers, we’ve a mixed bag of numbers,
including some that featured in the charts.
The piano’s there to please, as its black and white the keys
help with difficult songs, (and some are!)
Chords race like the devil from the bass to the treble
for the intro to Ok-la-ho-MA.

We play with some passion on some noisy percussion
to accompany our songs, keeping time.
And how the volume swells when ringing of the bells
enlivens the tune with their chime.
In a half session break for refreshment and cake
we can chat to our hearts’ desire.
Then there’s more time to sing, it’s our favourite thing!
We’re the West-Wight-Dementia-Friendly Choir.