by John Bird
A recent composition from John, who's been captured on camera at home.
"I was thinking of the choir and the song came to me, so I thought I'd call it 'Song For Sarah'. Bits of the song can be traced to Bruce Hornsby and Lionel Ritchie, so it's a bit of a mash-up."
by Vivienne Dalgliesh
Being in shielding we have had no opportunity to go out and buy plants, so we just let things grow and this is what we've ended up with.
One side of the garden is covered in buttercups which have flowered for weeks, and the flowers follow the sun as it tracks from east to west, just as sunflowers do.
The other side of the garden is covered with self-sets, including a range of different coloured poppies.
We have a lovely display of colour which these photos hardly do justice to.
The sparrows are loving it, but they are not always welcome. Some of them have been sneaking into the greenhouse and stealing the string from the canes holding up the tomatoes.
We know it's them as they are using it as nesting material, as you can see here, under the eaves. This is creating a shortage, as string is something else we don't have more of.
Unfortunately, at least one sparrow got its comeuppance as a sparrow hawk paid a visit and had one of them for lunch - but was too fast for me to capture on camera!
Judy (pictured front centre), with the choir and founder Choir Leader, Flora Smith (front left), performing at The Puffin Festival in Amble Town Square, May 2015. (One of Nevill's photos)
Only ever having sung around the house, I saw an advert for a choir starting in Amble. Being at a stage in life when I needed something different to stimulate me, I decided to go along.
Flora was our leader then, and it was through her bringing a flyer into choir one week that I had an experience that I would never have expected at the age of 70. The flyer was for mature people to take part in a film about a choir. It said as long as you could hold a note they would like you to go along for an audition.
As I had nothing doing on the following Monday, I decided I would see what it was all about. The result was that I was chosen as a soprano to take part in a film called 'A Song for Marion' about a choir for mature people. My family thought it hilarious that their mother should be in a film with some wonderful people like Terence Stamp, Anne Reid, Vanessa Redgrave and Gemma Arterton.
To experience what happens behind the scenes of film making was very interesting and making friendships with other choir members is something that I will never forget.
Much of the filming was done on location in Newcastle and Durham, including St. Francis Community Centre (by Freeman Hospital), Newcastle City Hall, Tyne Theatre & Opera House, and Durham Johnston Comprehensive School.
And all of this because I decided to join Amble's Harbour Lights Community Choir.
You never know what life has in store for you.
Judy Baird, June 2020
Judy brought in a cake to celebrate her 80th birthday with the choir last December.