WELCOME to the updated 2010 website of Grenville Jones.
Grenville is in training for the Bath Half Marathon on Sunday March 7th - raising money for his Golden-Oldies Charity and the Prostate Cancer Charity. Bath Male Choir sang last December at St John's Smith Sq London for the Christmas Celebration of the National Prostate Charity. He admits that it is tough ( at his tender age ) training for a 13 mile run, but with over 40 guys from the Bath Male Choir also running he is looking forward to the day. If you would like to add your support, the Choir has a dedicated bank account for supporters to log onto. . Please help them to hit their target of £10,000 - it is all on www.bathmalechoir.org.
THE Bath Chorus - is the young mixed-voice choir started by Grenville in January last year which now has over 80 singers. Grenville gave up The Silver Ring Choir after 11 years last January - in his words "the time had come to move on." THE Bath Chorus is an auditioned group singing a a wide modern repertoire who rehearse on Monday nights. - if you are looking for an exciting new choir to join in Bath - look no further. Contact GJ on jonesgrenville@aol.com the Chorus welcomed Hayley Westenra to Bath in December for a packed Bath Forum concert and have a busy year ahead including singing at Wells Cathedral in February supporting Help 4 Heroes www.thebathchorus.org.uk
The Bath Male Choir www.bathmalechoir.org are in great demand for concerts following their success on the 2008 BBC Last Choir Standing - a Choir now with over 90 singers and a full diary this year. In April they go to Belfast to take part in the Bangor Music Festival where they will meet up with another Last Choir group, the Belfast Open Arts Community Choir. Grenville is always keen to introduce the wonderful singing hobby to younger men - see projects for Bath Male Choir contact details.
Grenville also tutors the new choir from the famous Norland College in Bath. The Norland Nannies delighted an audience at the Millennium Theatre in Cardiff last year at the opening night of Mary Poppins and are working on a new repertoire for 2010 - see www.norland.co.uk
His most recent project has been the launch of the Bath Good Afternoon Choir. A non-auditioned choir, mainly for retired people, working with Francis Faux, this project has really taken off with over 80 people having a "good afternoon" every Thursday in Bath. See www.goodafternoonchoir.org Grenville hopes to start more Good Afternoon Choirs this year.
Then of course there is his Golden-Oldies Charity www.golden-oldies.org.uk Grenville started it back in January 2008 with 4 fun singing session for the elderly in Bath. It now runs over 40 daytime singing sessions each week across the West Region with plans for even more in 2010 . With the support of an enthusiastic board of Trustees and many others, "Goldies" is having a profound effect on the lives of hundreds of elderly people. Grenville's aim is to take the Charity on to national level in the next 10 years. Look out for news on the Time after Time community project Grenville is leading this year with Schools across Bath & North East Somerset.
Then there are those fabulous Stockingtops - an auditioned all-girl singing group of singers - wow - started by GJ two years ago. Grenville plans to double the size of this group in 2010. So ladies - if you like some "swing with your sing" see www.stockingtops.biz
Grenville is a Mayor of Bath - Citizen of the Year 2009, announced last March. He was nominated by a number of folk who attend the Golden-Oldies sessions in the City. The Bath Chronicle in its first issue of 2009 also named Grenville as runner up to the Bath Man of the Year for 2008, an award he won last year. He was also one of 10 people nationwide nominated for the !TV/ Daily Mirror Community Champion award in 2009.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
A UNIQUE new singing project starts tomorrow afternoon (Thursday May 7th) in Bath.
Bath Choir leader Grenville Jones knows first hand about the huge interest in singing. The BBC's Last Choir Standing had a major affect on the resurgence and his Bath Male Choir hit top five on the 2008 programme; a remarkable achievement for a group who only formed in 2007.
Grenville’s next project will tune up in Bath tomorrow (Thursday May 7th). The Good Afternoon Choir will be just that, an open Choir with no auditions for retired and unemployed people. Everyone will be welcome with the accent on harmony singing and, in Grenville’s words:
“Everything from Alleluia to Abba!”
He is also the founder of a charity called Golden-Oldies, which has attracted worldwide attention. ”Goldies”, as it has become affectionally known, provides fun rock and roll singing sessions in community homes for isolated and lonely people and is having a profound effect on people’s lives. In 16 months it has progressed from 5 weekly singing sessions in Bath to over 50 across the west of England.
The Good Afternoon Choir project in Bath will link in with Bath Spa University, which has a strong reputation for music excellence. Young music degree students will be given the opportunity to act as trainee conductors of the Good Afternoon Choirs.
An X-Factor-type audition will take place in May to pick the two students who will work with the choir for the next 12 months. This will conclude with a concert in Bath with each student conducting one half of the performance.
The first meeting of the choir is at the United Reformed Church, Argyle Street Bath from 2 – 4pm on Thursday May 7th. Everyone is welcome.
Have a good afternoon and sing with the Good Afternoon Choir.
www.goodafternoonchoir.org
Friday, April 24, 2009
Photo call Thursday May 7th
2pm - 4pm, United Reformed Church, Bath
Have a “good afternoon” with the Good Afternoon Choir
MORE and more people are joining choirs and taking up singing as a hobby. There are rock choirs, work choirs and community choirs, but sadly, many older people whose choir has been the centre of their social life for years have to face the fact that as their voices age, the choir they love just may not want them anymore.
A new singing project in Bath could change all that.
Bath Choir leader Grenville Jones knows first hand about the huge new interest in singing. The BBC's Last Choir Standing had a major affect on the resurgence of interest in singing and his own Bath Male Choir achieved top five status on the 2008 programme; a remarkable achievement for a group of men who only formed in 2007.
Many of the members had no previous choir experience yet Bath Male Choir, now with over 90 members, is in huge demand for concerts across the UK.
Grenville is also the founder of a charity called Golden-Oldies, which has attracted worldwide attention. ”Goldies”, as it has become affectionally known, provides fun rock and roll singing sessions in community homes for isolated and lonely people and is having a profound effect on people’s lives. In 16 months it has progressed from 5 weekly singing sessions in Bath to over 50 across the west of England.
Grenville’s next project will start in Bath next Thursday (May 7th). The Good Afternoon Choir will be just that, an open Choir with no auditions for retired and unemployed people. Everyone will be welcome with the accent on harmony singing and, in Grenville’s words:
“Everything from Alleluia to Abba!”
He explains:
“I have conducted many choirs and have been faced with the unpleasant task of re-auditioning older choir members, an experience shared by fellow conductors across the UK. Many elderly choir members have belonged to their choir for most of their life. It has become the bedrock of their social world, their friendships and in many cases the way they enjoy holidays through singing tours abroad. Then they are told that their voice is not good enough any more, a devastating thing to hear.
“In Latvia there are a series of retirement choirs which singers move on to when they reach 70. Then there is no unpleasantness or bad feeling involved. The Good Afternoon Choir in Bath is a pilot and I hope the concept will take off across the whole of the United Kingdom.
“People will be able to travel to their choir rehearsal during the daytime, making use of free bus passes. They will not have to be concerned about dark nights and evening parking charges, and they will be home in time to enjoy the 6 o’clock news. But this will not be an inferior group musically, it will be group of singers who work to achieve a high standard and entertain its audiences.
“Another unique aspect of the Good Afternoon Choirs will be singing in five-part harmony. As well as the traditional soprano, alto, tenor and bass lines, we will introduce the opportunity to simply sing the melody line. This means that anyone who has no previous singing experience can sing the tune to their heart’s content. There will also be social trips and opportunities to meet up with other Good Afternoon Choirs.”
Uniquely, The Good Afternoon Choir project in Bath will link in with the Bath Spa University, which has a strong reputation for music excellence. Young music degree students will be given the opportunity to act as trainee conductors of the Good Afternoon Choirs.
An X-Factor-type audition will take place in May to pick the two students who will work with the choir for the next 12 months. This will conclude with a concert in Bath with each student conducting one half of the performance.
The first meeting of the choir is at the United Reformed Church, Argyle Street Bath from 2 – 4pm on Thursday May 7th. Everyone is welcome.
Have a good afternoon and sing with the Good Afternoon Choir.
For more information please contact Grenville or Nikki on 01761 472468 or visit www.goodafternoonchoir.org
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The work of Golden-Oldies founder, Grenville Jones has been recognised in the 2009 City of Bath Mayor’s Citizen of the Year Awards.
The awards recognise individuals working in the community across the City and local people are invited to nominate the people they think should be acknowledged.
Grenville’s nominees were Cyril Watson and Margaret Fielding who are both regular Goldies at the Monday morning Blagdon Park singing session. This was the first session started by Grenville in January last year. It now has over 30 people who sing and smile to the hits of the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Both Cyril and Margaret attended the Mayor’s Parlour in the Guildhall yesterday (Tuesday 17th March) when Cyril read out his nomination. He said:
“Grenville and the Goldies have given so many elderly people something very special.
“There are so many of us who stay at home with little to look forward to. The Goldies has got us out of our homes and we all love the sessions so much.”
From the first Blagdon Park session in Bath there are now over 40 sessions across the West of England attracting between 50 and 60 people.
The Golden-Oldies Charity works with a number of organisations including Somer Housing, Merlin Housing, Mendip Housing, Mendip District Council, North Somerset Housing, South Somerset Homes and South Somerset District Council as well as Swindon Borough Council and South Gloucestershire Council.
Goldies as it has become known has received international media coverage. It was featured on the BBC National News and TV crews from Canada and Germany have visited Bath to film Cyril, Margaret and friends raising the roof to Hi Ho Silver Lining.
Grenville’s work with the Golden-Oldies was also recognised in January by the Bath Chronicle when they named him Bath Man of 2008. This was not only for his work with the Charity but also for the success of his City of Bath Male Choir on the BBC’s popular Last Choir Standing series.
Aled Jones invited Grenville as guest on his Radio 3 programme, The Choir in September where he was keen to hear about the Golden-Oldies and Grenville’s growing reputation as being the man who gets people of all ages to sing.
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For more information please contact Grenville Jones on 01761 472468
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
ONE thing is for sure: Bath will be the all-singing and all-dancing place to be over the Spring Bank Holiday this year from May 1 – May 4.
For the last two years, Bath music man Grenville Jones has organised his Bath Showcase charity concert at the Bath Forum on the first Saturday in May. These have raised over £30,000 for local community groups, working with the Chairman of Bath & North East Somerset Council who has chosen the groups who receive the support.
This year, in his inimitable style, Grenville is going a few steps further, turning the Showcase idea into a weekend of music called Bath Sing for Life. Grenville started talking to local businesses last summer, looking for sponsorship support.
He has raised over £20,000 to date. The main Bath Sing for Life sponsor is Wessex Water, with a long list of other backers.
Grenville explains:
“Bath was buzzing on that Spring Bank Holiday last year, but apart from my showcase concert there was very little else happening. This year things will be different. Not only will there be the Bath Sing for Life concerts, but James Whitehead is also running his Bath Dance Festival that weekend, and of course there is the annual Bath Spring Flower Show at Royal Victoria Park.
“If you live in Bath, get your guest room ready and ask your friends from around the UK. Let’s make our city a lively and happy place to be between May 1st and 4th.”
Bath Sing for Life will be raising money for Dorothy House Hospice Care, Forever Friends and Golden Oldies. Grenville’s target is £30,000.
On Friday May 1st, there will be 4 concerts all starting at 7.45pm featuring local singers. St. Mary Bathwick will welcome the Bath Minerva Choir and the Paragon Singers. This concert is sponsored by Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons and Zenith International.
The Bath Cantata Group and the Jane Lilley Singers will be in concert at St. Stephen’s Lansdown. Rotork Controls and Buro Happold are the sponsors.
St. Luke’s Wellsway will welcome the Bath Community Gospel Choir and the RUH Community Choir, sponsored by The Podium and Bath Chamber of Commerce.
St. John’s Catholic Church in South Parade will host a concert by the ‘Last Choir Standing’ top five, The City of Bath Male Choir with Grenville Jones’ new choir, THE Bath Chorus. The sponsors here are Mowbray Woodward Solicitors and Richardson Grove Accountants.
“I would like to especially thank all the choirs, who are taking part without charge. Friday concert tickets will all be priced £12.50 and I hope that the people of Bath will turn out to pack all of the four churches, so we can really get the weekend off to a fantastic start,” adds Grenville.
As well as the Dance Festival events taking place on the streets of Bath through the weekend, Saturday will see talented young musicians from Bath Spa University playing at city centre venues such as The Podium, Milsom Place, Jolly’s, M&S and BHS.
The Rodolfus Choir are without question one of the premier youth choirs in Europe. Aged between 18 and 25, they are all aspiring professional musicians who have been selected from the annual Eton Choral courses. They regularly record on Radio 3, were the choir chosen by Katherine Jenkins to sing on her CDs, and are led by Ralph Allwood from Eton College. They will be in concert at Bath Abbey on Saturday evening May 2nd, a concert featuring popular choral music from across the ages that is bound to sell out very quickly.
One of Europe’s leading organists, David Goode will also play at the Bath Abbey concert.
Also on the Saturday, the Bath Forum will host a singing workshop for young people aged between 9 and 17 called Worldsong. Sponsored by Bath Building Society, the workshop will be taken by one of the leading youth choir conductors in the world, Mike Brewer OBE.
This workshop is being supported by the music advisor team at Bath and North East Somerset Council. On Saturday evening at 7.30 p.m, the workshop will form the basis for a concert, which will also feature the Curtain-Up theatre group, the Bath Youth Gospel Choir and Cantilena.
Top jazz vocalist Clare Teal will headline at the Bath Pavilion on Sunday evening May 3rd, the final Bath Sing for Life event for the weekend, sponsored by Tesco. Appearances on shows like Parkinson have put Clare right at the top of the jazz tree. Supporting Clare at the Pavilion will be the fabulous Stockingtops all-girl swing group, another evening not to be missed.
Other local sponsors backing Bath Sing for Life are Ralph Allen Press, World Market Travel, First Office, Money Wise, Cross Manufacturing, Touchstone, Aqua Sulis Guesthouse, The Royal Hotel and Tolley Cottage. Media supporters are the Bath Chronicle and GWR West.
With the support of the Council, promotional literature will be sent all around the UK targeting visitors to the city. Group travel and accommodation are in the capable hands of Bath-based European Connoisseurs Travel.
See www.bathsingforlife.org.uk for full details. All concert tickets are available from the Bath Festivals Box Office, tel. 01225 463362 or call Rosie at Grenville’s office on 01761 472468.
Saturday, 27 December, 2008
Bath choir leader, concert promoter and PR man Grenville Jones has announced that he standing down from one of his Choirs, the Silver Ring Choir and launching two new music ventures in 2009 !
Grenville who lives at Peasedown has conducted the Silver Ring Choir of Bath for the past 11 years. During that time he has taken the choir from 35 to 90 singers and put it on stage with some of the biggest names in popular music including Katherine Jenkins, Alfie Boe, Hayley Westenra and Aled Jones. There have been recordings and TV appearances as well as highly successful tours to Europe, Canada twice and New Zealand.
Says Grenville:
" I have enjoyed many special musical moments with the Silver Ring and hopefully entertained thousands across the World, but there are only so many hours in the day. I wish the Choir good contented singing in the future, I made so many friends around the World with the Choir concerts and tours. "
Grenville will concentrate his enthusiasm on the City of Bath Male Choir20that he founded in 2006. In a short time they have become one of the most popular choirs in the UK reaching top five in the recent ‘ Last Choir Standing ‘ series on BBC TV and with over 90 singers now on the=2 0books .
As well as the Male Choir he also has his auditioned girls group - the 30 voice Stockingtops girls swing singers as well as the Golden- Oldies Charity he launched last year which is having such a profound effect on the lives of hundreds of elderly people across the West of England.
Goldies, as it has become known, has attracted world-wide publicity being featured on the national BBC 6 O’clock news as well as on Canadian, German and Australian TV. Grenville was the special guest of Aled Jones in September on his Radio Three programme ‘The Choir’. Aled’s interview centred on Grenville’s reputation for getting people singing and the success of the Golden-Oldies.
Grenville has also produced two highly successful charity showcase variety shows for the last 2 years at the Bath Forum raising over £30,000 for local organisations. In 2009 he will extend the Showcase theme to a whole weekend of music called Bathsingforlife from May 1-4. Local companies have pledged over £20,000 in sponsorship support and the weekend will again raise money for local Charities.
New projects from Grenville in 2009 will include a new auditioned Monday night rehearsal concert choir call ed THE Bath Chorus. Grenville wants to hear from talented singers who would like to join this new group who will sing in May at the BathsingforLife weekend.
A choir of 30 voices under this name sang at the first Golden-Oldies carol service at St Mary Bathwick last week. with Grenville as Music Director and delighted the packed congregation. A new mixed voice choir for Bath was born !
He also plans to launch a Good Afternoon Choir in the Spring, an idea he has been nurturing for the past few months. He explains;
“There are so many people who are retired but to still love to sing in a proper choir. Attending evening rehearsals is a chore, especially in the winter months. The Good Afternoon Choir will be just that, an afternoon social group who are not auditioned so anyone can join but who will sing in four parts and enjoy making friends and music.
"They will rehearse in the centre of Bath so Park and Ride will be an easy option to get into Bath and I will be introducing new young conductors for this group as well as working with University music students.
“I want to take the idea of the Good Afternoon Choirs across the UK in the years ahead.”
Find out more about Grenville’s projects on www.grenvillejones.biz20or call Nikki or Rosie at his office on 0176 472468.
Friday, December 12, 2008
PRESS RELEASE
BATH music man Grenville Jones is used to standing in front of big singing groups but on Saturday December 20th it will be the biggest chorus to date when he leads the carol singing on Bath Rec in front of the final match before Christmas when Bath take on Sale. Grenville will be bringing 150 singers from his various Choirs as well as a section of the Bath Spa Band for those Christmas carol favourites before the match and during the interval.
It is only a few short months since he started his Golden-Oldies charity in Bath and the collection on Saturday at the Rec will be in support of the wonderful work that Goldies is doing not only in Bath but now across the West of England. From five sessions in Bath and North East Somerset this year, that number will increase to over 40 in January 2009. The “Goldies” as the folk who attend the free fun singing sessions are called will be singing and smiling to those pop tunes of the 50s, 60s and 70s from Swindon to Weston Super Mare and Gloucester to Yeovil.
“Marian McNeir Chairman of the Golden-Oldies Charitable Trust said:
“It has been an amazing journey with Grenville leading in his inimitable enthusiastic style. We were delighted when Bath Rugby club offered us a collection at their last match before Christmas and I am sure that he will get all 10,000 people singing their hearts out!”
There will also be groups of carol singers around Bath in the City Centre before the match starts again collecting for Golden-Oldies.
On Tuesday December 23rd, the first Golden-Oldies Christmas Carol Celebration will take place at St Mary Bathwick, starting at 2.30pm at the kind invitation of Revd. David Prothero. This will be a special occasion with over 400 Goldies attending from across the region. There will be Christmas carols, guest readings as well as special items from the Bath Chorus, a new mixed voice choir directed by Grenville Jones. Colin Hunt will be the organist.
Marian McNeir adds:
“Everyone is very welcome to come to our Goldies Christmas Celebration and there will be a collection at the end of the service which will go towards the Golden-Oldies Charitable Trust.
If anyone would like any more information on Golden-Oldies please call Abby on 01761 470006.
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For more information please call Grenville Jones on 01761 472468
Monday 27 October, 2008
PRESS RELEASE
THEY were seen and enjoyed by millions on the BBC's highly popular Last Choir Standing series through August, and on Saturday November 8th, The City of Bath Male Choir celebrate their third very special year at the Bath Forum.
The evening looks certain to be a 1500 sell out with Last Choir Standing fans of the Choir travelling from all over the UK to Bath for the concert, which is sponsored by Bang & Olufsen.
The remarkable fact is that this Choir only started in January 2006 when music man Grenville Jones put out a call for interested men to join a new male choir. A handful of singers turned up to the first rehearsal on a chilly February night but such is the reputation of the founder conductor that Choir numbers have built steadily to the 90 singers who will take to the stage on November 8th.
For the last two years the annual concert has been at the Guildhall but demand for tickets was so high this year that the venue had to be moved to the Forum.
Many of the pieces seen on the Saturday night TV show will be performed at the Forum, including the Bachelors hit, " I Believe" which has become the popular theme song of the Bath Male Choir.
Grenville appearances on national TV have made him something of a celebrity in recent weeks. There has been recognition around the Country and beyond, he was in Canada with one of his other charges, Bath's celebrated Silver Ring Choir on a concert tour in October, where he was stopped by many British tourists as, " the choir man from the television ! "
He was guest of BBC Radio 3's Aled Jones on his Sunday night programme' The Choir ' three weeks ago, talking about Bath Male Choir and his growing national reputation for getting people to sing and the Golden-Oldies charity which he also leads.
Also appearing on November 8th at the Forum will be the brilliant Lifted Gospel Group led by Jo Sercombe and Grenville's fantastic girl harmony group Stockingtops. Bath MP Don Foster will introduce the evening.
All in all a Bath night not to miss with tickets sensibly priced at £15 and £10 from the Festival Box Office on 01225 463362, but hurry as there are not many left.
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For more information please call Grenville Jones on 01761 472468 or 07778 282934
Monday 6th October 2008
PRESS RELEASE
BATH music man Grenville Jones is one of the guests on Radio 3’s THE CHOIR this Sunday (October 12th) which is presented by Aled Jones.
As founder conductor of The City of Bath Male Choir, Grenville became a familiar face to TV viewers on the recent BBC 1 ‘Last Choir Standing’ where his ‘boys from Bath’ reached the top five in a series watched by over five million people each week.
On THE CHOIR Aled talks to Grenville about his leadership of choirs in the West of England as well as the charity Golden-Oldies, which he started in January of this year.
Golden-Oldies brings music to lonely and isolated people and has attracted world-wide media attention. The Last Choir Standing team featured Grenville taking one of his fun ‘Goldie’ singing session in Bath on one of the Saturday night shows.
In a few short months Goldies has grown with free to attend Goldies sessions now taking place each week across the West of England.
Grenville is now in Canada on tour with one of his other choirs, the mixed-voice Silver Ring Choir of Bath. He also leads a girls group called Stockingtops, who made it to sing in front of the X Factor judges last year.
However, it is the association with Bath Male Choir and his ‘Goldies’ that has focussed on the man who in his own words, “just loves to get people singing!"
At 60 years of age Grenville just wants to get more people in tune, retirement? Never ever, he says!
"Singing makes you feel good, it encourages those harmonies called endorphins, increases mental alertness and, most importantly, it makes you happy.
"Last Choir Standing has boosted the great choral tradition in this country and will do for singing what ‘Strictly’ did for dancing."
Grenville’s Bath Male Choir have had to move their 2008 annual concert to a bigger venue to meet the demand for tickets from around the UK. It takes place at the 1500 seater Bath Forum on November 8th, see www.bathmalechoir.org.uk for details.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
PRESS RELEASE
Minister of State for Public Health and the Department of Health, Dawn Primarolo will be discovering for herself why so many people are talking about the Golden-Oldies Charitable Trust next Thursday September 18th.
Bristol South MP, Ms Dawn Primarolo will be calling at the Withywood Community centre on Thursday morning to meet over 100 Withywood ‘Goldies’ who attend the free, weekly fun singing sessions.
The Golden-Oldies Charitable Trust was launched 8 short months ago as a pilot project in Bath & North East Somerset. Golden-Oldies is the name of the Charity and the ‘Goldies’ are the elderly folk who attend the daytime sessions, singing along to the popular hits of the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Golden-Oldies has attracted huge media attention. It was featured on the BBC 6 O’Clock news in January and has been the subject of TV documentaries in both Germany and Canada.
Interest in Goldies has come from across the UK as well as further afield with emails from Australia, Japan, America, South Africa, Holland and Malaysia.
Four weekly sessions in January were the starting point and 8 months on, there are now 12 weekly sessions in Bath & North East Somerset plus a number of regular monthly sessions as well as regular sessions in Gloucester and Bristol, at Withywood.
In the next three weeks Goldies will launch in Swindon, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and South Somerset with the support of local authorities and housing providers.
Somer Housing Association are the leading Housing Association in Bath & North East Somerset and were the first organization to back Golden-Oldies. The sessions in Bath & North East Somerset take place in their sheltered housing community rooms. Average numbers attending weekly sessions is around the 50 mark.
The founder of Golden-Oldies is Grenville Jones, well known in the West of England as leader of a number of Choirs. He is the man with a reputation for getting people to sing!
Through his leadership of the City of Bath Male Choir who reached the last five in the recent BBC television series, Last Choir Standing and watched by a 5 million plus audience, Grenville has become a familiar face to Choir enthusiasts across the UK.
The Golden-Oldies was featured in one of the Last Choir Standing programmes showing Grenville taking a session in the centre of Bath with over 250 people, singing, smiling and dancing.
The ethos of Golden-Oldies is simple, to give elderly and isolated people something to look forward to. This may be the weekly singing session where those attending are encouraged to stand, stretch and dance or Grenville Jones’ vision is a BIG SING in London in four years time with Goldies descending on the capital from around the UK to enjoy a very special day out.
Funding support has come from a wide area with commercial sponsorship from Tesco, HSBC and Bupa Care Homes. A number of local authorities and housing providers as well as businesses and Charitable Trusts have added their support to Golden-Oldies.
The Trustees are chaired by Cllr. Marian McNeir, a former Mayor of Bath and include retired businessman John Cullum, father of jazz star, Jamie Cullum.
Bob Tyrrell is Development Trustee, he said:
“We are at the stage now of planning our development over the next three years and, like other Charities need the financial support which will give us a sustainable base from which we can build and extend our sessions across a much wider area.
“By the end of 2009, we intend having the West of England covered with weekly Goldie sessions and available transport to ensure people can attend. Bristol is a major development area for us and we need support and funding to enable us to reach out across the City with our Goldies mission.
“As Minister of Health, Dawn Primarolo could be our Goldies Champion. We have already received confirmation from GP Practices telling us that Goldies is making a profound change on people’s lives. When I attend the sessions myself and see first hand those smiling faces, feet tapping and elderly people simply laughing at the enjoyment a session gives, I am amazed at the affect Grenville and our session takers are having on people’s lives.
“Goldies is very special and I am sure that Ms. Primarolo will be moved by the Withywood Goldies experience.”
www.golden-oldies.org.uk
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Press enquiries to Grenville Jones or Nikki Anstey on 01761 472468
Please contact me at jonesgrenville@aol.com if you would like more information on the book of TTBB Male Choir arrangements coming soon or details of how your Choir can benefit from a Choral over-haul, looking at how your Choir is structured and whether it will survive and still be singing in 2018!