From all of us at Playlist for Life, we’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in a Musical Tea in October, and to those who are still to celebrate! This year’s events looked quite different from last year, but it has been wonderful to see so many of you join us for a cuppa, cake and some great music over the past month.
The power of personal music has been shared in care homes, hospital wards, on Zoom calls, in our own homes, and this year there was even a Musical Tea on a farm! Here are a few messages from friends who took part in this year’s Musical Tea celebrations:
To celebrate International Older Persons Day, 3 wards in Murray Royal Hospital hosted a Musical Tea afternoon. Patients within the wards spent the week leading up to it decorating bunting, helping choose music for our playlists and sharing together stories of their favourite singers etc. The afternoon itself was fantastic, we all celebrated together, having tea and cakes, listening to great music. Just what the patients and staff needed at this difficult time. Thank you so much Playlist for Life for sending me the resources to make this happen. It made a massive difference to my patients.”
The Musical Teas resource from Playlist for Life was shared in our dementia ambassador group. Staff sent away for the pack and got to work with the residents on creating Musical Tea days — some had a full week of different musical events. Our families and local communities supported the event by donating musical instruments and celebrating the event on our social media groups. Right now, through the pandemic it is important to have fun and look at ways we can all stay connected while being socially distanced. I couldn’t be prouder of the work of the teams of staff, residents and families who came together in different ways to make the events so successful.”
Our Musical Tea was so much fun! I took my PA speaker on the trailer with me and we came through the village with ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ playing. I took song requests and we ate Baranarama Bread, Jumpin Flap Jack Flash and other scrumptious treats. Plus we raised £100 for Playlist for Life!”
Although the official Musical Tea month has drawn to a close, it’s not too late to host your own event. If you support people living with dementia and your events have gone online, why not hold a virtual event like Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Services’ ‘Singing back the memories’ group? Check out their video below for some musical inspiration.
You can find all our Musical Tea resources here and donate to the fundraiser here. Sign up to our newsletter to hear about future events and opportunities.
