Surprise Sing-a-long COVID-19
Hello gorgeous people, it’s me Naomi, back to carry on the tale of my journey through COVID-19. I want to share with you one of my fondest memories from the year 2020. This memory really highlighted to me the importance of the relationships I build, with not only the residents I visit but the staff too.
As explained in my previous blog ‘Isolation Motivation’ once the Lockdown came in March 2020 I began posting daily exercise and sing-a-long videos online. Unfortunately not all care homes had the facilities to display these videos, plus with people having to isolate in separate rooms and heavy dementia homes needing a more physical approach, it wasn’t the perfect solution. Sadly my financial situation caught up with me and as great as it felt making these videos, I had to earn a living.
I had tried to keep in touch with the homes I had built relationships with, sending emails and calling. However they were under such pressure during this pandemic, understandably exercise classes and entertainment was the last thing on their mind. Fortunately I received emails from two homes that really helped me slowly begin business again. The first came from a care home I had been going to for years even before I launched N B Entertainment properly. The email asked if I would use the side entrance and do a surprise sing-a-long in front of the patio doors. I was so excited to see all the lovely faces of my regulars and the wonderful staff I had made friendships with but also a little nervous in case some faces weren’t there after the previous traumatic months. I sneaked round the back, the weather was beautiful, set up my stuff and poked my extension lead through the blinds as they were closed to keep the surprise. They started to open the blinds, I took a breath and … there they all were Dave, Silvia, Joyce, Olive and many more, all of my regulars smiling back at me and looking so well! For a whole 45 mins I sang for them and it was so joyous with them all singing and dancing along. In that moment we all forgot what was going on in the world and it was perfect. The video below still chokes me up when I watch it and not just because I sound soo brummie!
This really opened up the opportunity to start marketing my shows again for outdoor entertainment, all I need is side entrance access and a plug socket. It wasn’t feasible for a lot of homes but there were a few that jumped at the chance to have some entertainment back. So I was in car parks, through windows and in front of patio doors throughout the summer, while the weather was so nice in the summer 2020. It was amazing and I really did have a couple of months where it felt like life was getting back to normal, definitely my happiest memory in 2020.
