Thank you for the music!
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's final ‘summer tour’ concert, at Colten Care home Kingfishers New Milton
Ed Note: Following our previous report when Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra members discovered a former BSO leader in their audience at another Colten Care home, they have now performed for the final time in their summer tour, at Kingfishers in New Milton.
Even more poignant for people with dementia...
Kingfishers is also able to offer brilliant care for people with dementia, and a post by Clive Asher from earlier this week on the Sway Hearsay Facebook Group reinforces how powerful music is for those suffering with dementia. With his permission I've included Clive's moving words along with his poem, beneath this article.
Thank you for the music, says Geoff!
Musicians from the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) have played the final date on their ‘summer tour’ of care homes along the south coast, delighting residents at Colten Care’s Kingfishers in New Milton, Hampshire.
And the visiting maestros even performed a special request for one surprised music lover at the Outstanding-rated home.
Overjoyed Geoff Lount was prompted to get up and dance on hearing the start of an orchestral take on ABBA’s Thank You for the Music which he had asked them to play.
I wanted to get up and dance! We had a great time with the sun shining and the music sounding amazing.
Geoff said: “They performed a whole variety of music and I was thrilled when they played my request. It made me immediately want to get up and dance with the staff. We all had a really great time with the sun shining and the music sounding amazing.”
Companionship team member Sue Hawkins, who danced with Geoff, said: “Music brings such joy to our residents and there is nothing better than experiencing live music performed by professional players in your own garden.”
As well as ABBA, French horn and piano player Kevin Pritchard and violinist Jennifer Curiel led their audience through a one-hour set that included popular pieces by Gershwin, Puccini, Scott Joplin and Debussy and tunes from famous musicals including Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. When Kevin played the horn Jennifer took to the piano herself.
Kevin said: “We’ve played at Kingfishers before and it was great to be back performing there again. Everyone was smiling. It’s amazing what the team at the home do to create lovely experiences for residents.”
Another resident, Sue Swanton, said: “I had a lovely time. Both musicians were brilliant.”
Before the show at Kingfishers, Kevin and Jennifer performed summer BSO concerts at Colten Care’s Outstanding-rated homes Canford Chase in Poole and Fernhill in Longham.
The BSO is grateful for the generous support of Tapper Funeral Service in staging its summer concerts.
Images from top:
1. BSO musicians Kevin Pritchard and Jennifer Curiel leading their audience at Kingfishers through a one-hour set of classical and popular favourites.
2. Kingfishers resident Geoff Lount and Companionship team member Sue Hawkins dancing to Geoff’s request, ABBA’s Thank You for the Music.
4 weeks for the price of 3 in a New Forest Colten Care home
Try care home living for yourself or your loved one, at Colten Care's expense. All Colten Care homes are currently offering 4 weeks for the price of 3, so why not see for yourself what sets them apart - once you experience their comfort, care and companionship it's highly likely you'll want to stay longer!
Three of Colten's New Forest homes are rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission: Linden House specialist dementia care home in Lymington, Woodpeckers residential home in Brockenhurst and Kingfishers in New Milton.
Find out more about Colten Care
With more than 30 years’ experience, Colten Care is an award-winning family-owned care home company. It has 21 quality care homes covering Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Sussex and offers a range of services spanning residential, nursing and dementia care. Seven of the homes are rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission and Colten Care earns a consistently high group score, currently 9.9 out of ten, on the public review site Carehome.co.uk. Based on such third-party advocacy, Colten Care is the UK’s highest-rated care home group for its size.
All Colten Care homes are registered for nursing care
All homes are registered for nursing care and four are dedicated dementia care homes with Admiral Nurse support. Unlike people who receive domiciliary care in their own homes, residents in Colten Care homes have the reassurance that 24/7 nurse-led care with companionship is on hand whenever they need it. Residents live in the highest standards of accommodation, enjoying homecooked food, fresh laundry and housekeeping services, and safe, peaceful and inspiring gardens. Colten Care also supports residents to raise thousands of pounds for charities of their choice every year. Founded more than 35 years ago, Colten Care has won multiple awards for the quality of its care and remains an independent, family-owned care home provider. For more information, visit www.ColtenCare.co.uk
Three Colten Care homes in the New Forest are rated outstanding
Colten Care operates six residential nursing and care homes in the New Forest, three of which are rated Outstanding and three of which are in Lymington: Belmore Lodge, Court Lodge and dementia specialist Linden House (Outstanding). There are also homes in Brockenhurst -Woodpeckers (Outstanding), New Milton - Kingfishers (Outstanding) and Mudeford - Avon Reach. Click on the links to find out more about each home...
Clive Asher's post and poem as promised above
"I clean at a couple of dementia homes (Ed note these are other local care homes not Kingfishers) and it always makes me sad as the dementia seems to define the person. There seem to be so many layers to this condition. Some of the residents you can have a normal conversation with, then suddenly it all becomes quite random. Others I see seem to be in a complete catatonic state and then there are the ones who just sit repeating themselves just saying the same thing over and over.
Music has such an amazing effect
I have a friend and customer whose husband is suffering with this condition, so this poem is to both of you and anyone else suffering with this. Both the sufferer and those close to them."
"I still Feel" by Clive Asher
"You look at me so differently,
As I sit here in my misery
My mind is caged in bars you see,
Let me out, let me out, my memory.
You would sometimes see me smile,
The fleeting glimpse of a little child.
I can sing the words to every song,
Know every word as I sing along.
As I entered this nightmare of dementia madness.
Do you think that I've got so much worse,
As I now have to repeat this verse.
I see your look of sorrow and loss,
Long before I lie, beneath my headstone cross.
For my dementia gets worse and worse."
Ed note: Sad as this poem is, the wonderful thing is how music is able to break through. I say this also from personal experience because my own mother was cared for at Colten Care's Linden House, where music brought visible comfort right to the end.
