Lester leads a fine sing-song

THE venue for our October meeting was St Oswald’s Church Hall, as we had invited our friends, The Movers and Shakers from Derby Branch to join us for a good old singsong, led by Lester Simpson, and our usual meeting place, Town Head Community Room was too small to accommodate the extra numbers.

After the meeting and greeting with coffee, tea and biscuits, Lester introduced the Ashbourne members to The Field Mice Carol from Kenneth Grahame’s book The Wind in the Willows.

The Movers and Shakers were able to sing this through for us, with the harmonies, accompanied by Lester on the ukulele, while we followed the words on the printed sheets we had been handed; then it was our turn to join in.

Soon we were all singing along with songs from the 40s and 50s, through to the 80s and 90s.

Early in the 1980s neuro scientists were examining the why, and how, music affects people.

That led to the founding of The Institute of Music and Neurological Function.

Dr Oliver Sacks, a British neuroscientist studied the beneficial effects of music on people with Parkinson’s disease, and in his book, Musicophilia, he describes how music can animate patients with the disease who cannot otherwise move.

Music is irresistible and haunting, and unforgettable, and Dr Sack’s book explains why.

It was so good to share with our guests the sheer enjoyment of singing along to the songs of our childhood, youth and later years, and the camaraderie it engenders.

Derby Parkinson’s Branch Movers and Shakers meets on Thursday afternoon, 2pm to 4pm at Chester Green Community Hall and is always pleased to welcome any Ashbourne Branch members who wish to join them.

Our Christmas luncheon will be held at Denstone Farm Shop this Friday. T’ai Chi is held every Friday at The Hub on the Industrial Estate, Derby Road, 2pm to 3pm.

We meet at Town Head on the third Thursday of the month from 2pm to 4pm, and ask for a £1 donation towards refreshments, and we take a raffle prize and support the local food bank.

Transport can be arranged for all these activities and we welcome all who might like to join us.