MY STORY

My mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2012. She always loved music and still does today. Unfortunately, most of everything else is gone. She doesn’t recall my dad (her husband of 54 years) or any of her siblings and friends and I’m usually mistaken for either the fictitious “man across the road” or her father who passed away when she was seven! As the saying goes: The lights are on but sadly nobody’s home!

Amazingly, I can pick up the guitar and strum the chords to almost any song from the 1950’s or 60’s and her response is almost immediate. Her foot starts to tap, she lifts up her head, smiles (a scarce but cherished moment) followed by that wonderful cheeky wink and she’s off... song after song, note by note and word by word. There isn’t a drug in the entire world able to do that! 

My background is varied and largely irrelevant but includes the trials and tribulations of over 30 years within the Music Business. As well as working under contractual agreements with an array of different artists, I’ve been fortunate enough to have played hundreds of live shows all over the world, including several tours of Japan, USA, South America, Scandinavia and Europe.

As my mother’s condition deteriorated, I stopped working full-time in 2017 to share the responsibility for her care along with my sisters.

I met Paddy Morley a short time later as a result of sourcing various organisations which provided help and support to families.

Paddy managed the local care home (The Meadows) which is situated a short distance from my mum’s home and specialise in dementia care. As well as being a registered nurse of 40 years, Paddy has also managed a succession of care homes over the past 20 years. His knowledge and expertise in the field is literally unsurpassed. 

To cut a long story short, Paddy persuaded me to take on the role of Activity Co-Ordinator at The Meadows on a part-time basis. Up to this point I’d never actually set foot inside a care home. However, Paddy reckoned I had a “natural aptitude” for the job. Ok, he was probably desperate to find someone but what the hell! There wasn’t any formal training as such. He simply outlined his aims and objectives and allowed me to get on with it! The Meadows literally sowed the seed for SINGALONG with JOHN although I wasn’t to know it at the time.

The role of Activity Co-Ordinator actually became something of a labour of love and gave me a tremendous sense of job satisfaction. I set-up an Arts & Crafts workshop and armed with a seemingly endless supply of surplus cardboard boxes, paint, glue and sticky-back plastic, we set about recreating some of the resident’s most cherished memories. Eat your heart out Blue Peter… (see photos below).

With Sunderland being a coastal town, the fun and frolics of the seaside are never far from the hearts and minds of the locals. And so, there was a beach hut (salvaged from scrap) which on fine, sunny days served chips, toffee apples and candy floss. We had Punch & Judy, crazy golf, an ice cream cart, fairground paraphernalia and a whole host of beach-related activities. There was even a jukebox and picture house (cinema) which enabled the residents to revisit those bygone, adolescent days of snogging in the backrow and Rockin’ around the Clock! (see photos below).

However, of all the activities we did, there’s no doubt which one the residents enjoyed most, the SING-ALONGS! And the more interactive we could make them – the better!

Sometimes our renditions were surprisingly good. Other times they were dreadful but either way, we always had a lot of fun. 

The SINGALONG with JOHN characters such as "Fred the Ted" and "Private Tommy" simply materialised from the residents’ own recollections of the times and of the many real-life characters they’d met along the way. 

For years scientists, neurologists and philosophers alike, have cited an irrefutable link between music and memory for its uncanny ability to transport us back to a particular moment in time. And in recent years, advances in research have proven this theory beyond mere speculation (see Music and the brain' diagram below). Doctors and healthcare professionals routinely use melodic music and ambient sound to create a sense of calm and wellbeing for sufferers of insomnia and stress-related disorders. Whilst practitioners of meditation use the natural sounds of nature to similar effect. The loud, angst-driven sound of Motorhead or Thrash Metal are hardly likely to achieve the same goal. Then again, I know some strange people...

In my mother's case (and countless others I meet in care homes) I can only compare it to that of someone turning on a light switch!

As well as the hundreds of group sessions I’ve been privileged to host, there’s also the more intimate bedside sessions with those sadly at the end of their lives. It isn’t uncommon in these situations for individuals to be completely withdrawn and reluctant to interact for weeks, months and even years. And yet somehow, occasionally, the music gets through. It’s truly amazing how often it does.

The aim of SINGALONG with JOHN is simple. To provide a fun and light-hearted afternoon/evening of reminiscence, laughter and song!

Our hope is that it delivers even more.

In memory of my late mother, 

Florence Casey

(03/04/32 to 20/10/2020)

A few words from Paddy.. 

John is the most effective and caring Music Therapist that I have met in 35 years of Nursing and 17 years as a Home Manager. He has a unique gift and a passion for entertaining others. John is extremely creative and has devised music and activities programmes that have had the ability to elicit positive responses from residents who were very cognitively impaired. I have witnessed him “awakening” residents who had not spoken for years with a simple song performed on a one-to-one basis. He uses his performing background and innate non-verbal skills to engage residents in a way that they enjoy responding to.

John has a deep understanding of older people. His work with older people from the North East involves his knowledge of how they lived their lives, where they worked and how they socialised. This skill is evident in the way that he delivers his sessions with local history, art, song, pictures and items from the past all becoming part of a rounded experience. John’s brilliant sense of humour also means that all of his activities are accompanied by smiling faces and laughter.

I have no hesitation in recommending John’s sessions to anyone working with older people or those with impaired cognition. His vitality and enthusiasm are infectious. His sessions leave both residents and staff feeling uplifted and the positive effect that I have witnessed for myself on a resident's daily experience is invaluable. 

Patrick Morley

RMN, Registered Home Manager.