Bonded by strength, positivity – and singing in the bathroom
The irrepresible Yvie Young has been beating the lockdown blues, by singing in her bathroom.
The Lochgilphead nurse is a member of the brand new Beat It choir, set up at the beginning of coronavirus lockdown by STV entertainment reporter Laura Boyd and singing coach Shona Brown.
Beat It is a virtual choir for those not only living with cancer, but also for anyone who has been touched by the illness. It is designed to bring people together in this ongoing time of isolation.
It was Laura, who says she ‘loves singing’ who came up with the idea. After throwing out the idea on social media, she says she was ‘blown away’ by the response.
Laura explained: ‘I was contacted by the husband of a lady called Shona Brown, who runs SoundRoutes and has just come through cancer herself. He suggested she could be a good person to have involved, and he was right.’ It is a decade since Laura was diagnosed with cancer – chronic myeloid leukaemia – and lives today on constant medication to keep the disease at bay.
Shona was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, when her daughter was eight months old, and said: ‘I knew
I wanted to work on a project like this and when I heard that Laura was looking to start a choir for people who have been affected by cancer I had to get in touch.
‘As a musician and choir leader I know the power that music has to heal and lift our spirits. I hope that this can help people reach out to each other during this especially challenging time and bring us some much-needed joy.’
Members don’t have to be able to sing, as it is all about having fun, and joining those in a similar boat – and that is what drew Yvie to join in.
Yvie herself has gone through breast cancer treatment, and has been a powerful campaigner and fundraiser for the Beatson Cancer Charity and other good causes.
Last year she bared all – in the best possible taste – as part of the Brave to Bare event in Glasgow in aid of Rainbow Valley.
The 46-year-old explained: ‘I am the only Mid Argyll member in the choir, but a couple of the ladies who I did Brave to Bare with are also members.
‘When Laura Boyd got in touch about the choir it was a no-hesitation ‘yes’. The connections I have made with people following my cancer
diagnosis is amazing and they will be friends for life.’
The members, primarily but not exclusively ladies, meet remotely on Monday evenings via Zoom.
Yvie explained: ‘We rehearse our parts online then record our song in our own homes. Laura advised us to do the recording in our bathrooms because the acoustics are better, so I had fun setting up my phone, which involved boxes, a tin of soup and an elastic band, all balancing precariously on my bathroom window sill.’
She added: ‘I love being a part of the choir, it’s so heartwarming and is definitely beneficial for your health and wellbeing.
‘We’ve been brought together through difficult circumstances and have bonded so well due to the strength and positivity the group emits.’
The 30-strong choir recently released a video of their debut recording Don’t Give Up On Me, created from footage recorded during their online recording sessions.
‘Our first recording has gone amazingly well, so we’ll continue to entertain the world. Next on the agenda is a Christmas song,’ revealed Yvie.
She added: ‘I’m so looking forward to the day we can all meet up and sing as a group. It goes without saying the choir has made life during lockdown more bearable.’
For more information on the choir, visit the soundroutessingers.com/beat-it/website.
And Yvie already has her next challenge in her sights – 400,000 steps in October for Breast Cancer Now during Breast Cancer Awareness month. Watch this space.