‘The choir is like a family’
Retired health service trainer Issy Mcmanus (59) lives in south Belfast and has a grown-up daughter, Nuala. She joined the Cancer Focus NI Sing for Life choir after her husband Johnny died of a rare form of cancer, and says:
Iwas encouraged to join the choir by a friend who was already a member. When Johnny passed away 10 years ago it was devastating, very hard. My daughter had just started grammar school but we had to just keep going. I wish I had known about the choir sooner as I love singing but it might have been too raw for me to join then anyway.
Before I joined I wasn’t sure it was really for me but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I love it. It is an amazing lifeline.
I’ve met so many diverse people, made many friends and can talk to people who more recently find themselves in a similar situation to me. I think it is helpful to them to see that you can come through this. It is a fantastic social night out, I would come out of practice grinning from ear to ear. And standing up to perform at events is fabulous (though you don’t have to take part if you’d rather not).
The choir stopped very quickly when the pandemic started as some of the members are vulnerable cancer patients. It left a big void in my life. I have rheumaand toid arthritis and am shielding so I really missed the company.
I am very sociable and love to chat. When I heard the choir rehearsals were starting up again on Zoom I was delighted, like a child in a sweetie shop. It’s lovely to see everyone’s face again, to say hello and have a bit of craic.
It’s a surreal situation that we’re in.
You do become concerned about those around you. It’s lovely to see familiar faces each week and know that they are okay. They become part of your life. It’s like a family that you belong to.
Fortunately, I have met an amazing man, something I never thought would happen, and we were married just before lockdown.”
To find out more about the choir visit www. cancerfocusni.org/ patient-support/groups-activities-cancer-focus-ni