At the end of November we had a special Seven Songs in Sonning: with 5 other brave friends accompanied me, we played to a crowded village hall of about a hundred local folk.

The music was pretty good (some of it was very good), the food was sublime but it was the amazing crowd of our friends and neighbours that made the evening such a roaring success. Not least because we raised £1350 for the Alzheimer’s Society.

My friend Charlie pulled me aside at the end and said:

‘This is exactly what village halls are build for – locals entertaining other locals and making something special happen.’

To me that sums up what Seven Songs is (trying) to do. Create those old fashioned, spin the bottle style, parlour evenings where we entertain ourselves and those who can play and sing and tell jokes and do tricks, do – and those that don’t, enjoy.

Here are some pictures of the night and hopefully we’ll do one again next year

I must thank everybody involved and there are some that need special mention.

The Sponsors

Unite the Union

Twyford Therapy

Sonning Golf Course

The Bull in Sonning

Hare Hatch Sheeplands

The Cookcurry Club

The Musicians

Harman Sondh: Guitar, Singing

Hannah Woolford: Keyboard, Singing

Ginny Cooper: Keyboard, Singing Tambourine

Simon Dore: Keyboard, Singing, Percussion

Paul Hersom: Guitar, Singing

 

The crew

Sound Engineer: Colin Fowles

Producer: Duncan Cooper

 

The Food

By the Cookcurry Club: http://www.thecookcurryclub.com/

None of the event would be possible without Brian Scott, Rod Mercer, Andrew Barker, Jeremy Gilmore and all at FHC Productions.

And to the audience, friends, family and guests – thank for making this such a special evening and being so very very generous.

And of course – you’ve heard this all before but it’s the important bit – I want to raise money for a very special cause which is supporting those wonderful people who look after loved ones with dementia. This is a battle without much support or recognition and it’s a journey that is taken quietly and out of the spotlight at a terrible emotional cost. The cost in financial cost of care for the 850,000 people now living with dementia is also breathtaking. It costs £26 billion, £8 billion from the NHS but two thirds (TWO THIRDS!), about £17 Billion, is paid for by families of people with dementia in unpaid care and in private social care and imagine the subsequent loss of earning to the UK economy.

Supporting dementia isn’t very rock’n’roll but it’s one of the big challenges that our generation faces. Please help support dementia care and research and have a Seven Songs in your living room. What’s the worst thing that could happen.

Contact: davie@sevensongs.org