The weather may have been miserable for most of May, but here at More Harmony HQ, we've refused to let it get us down!  We started our month by marking Mental Health Awareness Week 2021.  Emotional well-being is something that we take really seriously at our chorus and it was wonderful to talk with our members about the reasons they feel that being part of More Harmony keeps them on an even keel.  We'd like to thank the amazing Little Bird Creative, who turned that list of reasons into seven daily graphics for us to share across our social media, highlighting the ways that singing in a choir can boost your mental health.  If you missed this campaign, you can see all seven graphics come to life in a video Little Bird Creative put together for us here!

Plans are now well underway for our return to in-person rehearsals.  Like many choirs across the UK, More Harmony were devastated to discover that the government had changed the conditions of their "roadmap" and that despite all of our hard work and effort, putting together risk assessments and purchasing PPE, indoor rehearsals with more than six singers in attendance were not going to be allowed to go ahead from May 17th after all.  For those of us who've now spent over a year rehearsing predominantly over Zoom, it was a massive blow to find the rules changed with no warning.  We've been hugely fortunate to have outdoor space available to us, which has allowed us to hold outdoor, socially-distanced rehearsals with six singers present over the last few weeks, but there is no substitute for the glorious sound of everyone together, with the acoustics afforded to us by our indoor rehearsal venue.  We add our names to the many singers and choir leaders across the country, urging the government to reassess the rules, in order to allow us all to safely return to what we love.


Until then, More Harmony will of course be adhering to current guidance and will be back at Wadebridge Ambulance Hall from Thursday 3rd June with six singers attending each week on a rota basis.  We are very much open to new members and if you're thinking of joining a singing group as restrictions continue to lift, please do email us for details as to how you can reserve a spot at the hall.  If you're a little unsure, you can also join in from home, as we will be livestreaming rehearsals on Zoom, too!  Drop us a line to find out how to get involved.
 
At our April committee meeting, it was agreed that it would be lovely to hold a social get-together prior to rehearsals starting back at the hall, so on Sunday 23rd, we braved the rain to hold a chorus picnic.  Whilst the weather prevented us from being completely out in the open, we'd like to extend a huge thank you to Susan of St. Kitt's Herbery, who allowed us to use the venue's sheltered seating area.  Being together - sharing biscuits, brownies and other goodies - was such a tonic after what has been a challenging year for so many of us and it definitely got us all excited about slowly getting back to normality.  Roll on June and our return to indoor rehearsals!