Two men are sitting at the back of a choir rehearsal together waiting for practice to start, chatting as if they are old friends. After finding out they have both lived in the same part of Swansea and share a love of rugby, Howard Jones, 71, and Rob Coleman, 67, have plenty to talk about and you would never have guessed they only met each other moments earlier.
As the director of the choir begins to play the keys of his piano, the pair study their songbooks which are made up of everything from the hits of the Beatles, Tom Jones' Green, Green Grass of Home and more modern ballads like Keane's Somewhere Only We Know.
Howard and Rob are part of the Ageing Well Choir which was launched earlier this year for older people in Swansea to help combat loneliness and isolation and improve mental health and wellbeing. The group, which often attracts around 60 participants, usually practice on the main stage at Swansea's state-of-the-art arena, but this week they met at Swansea Grand Theatre to harmonise together. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Unfazed by the change of venue, the choir members soon start singing their way through the list for the day, compiled from suggestions made by choir members on what they would most like to sing along to. Fuelled by mugs of warming tea and coffee and plates of welsh cakes, the choir members sing and play instruments together and use the breaks to catch up with one another and make new friends.
With his wife still working during the week, retiree Rob said it was nice to have somewhere like the choir to go to in the daytime. "It's good just to get out and meet people. You can end up staring at the wall otherwise if you're not careful. Look at me and Howard, we just met and now we're talking all about rugby." Unlike Rob, Howard lives on his own and said the choir had been fantastic as it could sometimes be hard living by himself, especially during the winter.
"It gives you something to look forward to," agreed Tina Westing, 64, who is sat nearby. After her friend recommended the sessions, Tina travelled down from Trimsaran near Kidwelly to keep her company and has been coming fortnightly ever since. "We love it because we love singing in a group and meeting new people. As you get older it's harder so this gives you something to look forward to, you don't get out so much otherwise.
For Anthony Wall, 68, the last time he sang in a group was back in his rugby days during the 90s. He said coming along to the groups had been inspiring. "When you see a lot of people coming together and hear the noise you create together it's amazing. If Swansea ever took this away it would be a big loss to the community, it gets people out of the house and without this you're just staring at four walls."
For 61-year-old Jane Li, this week was her first time at the choir after she moved to Swansea from Hong Kong just six and a half weeks ago. Through the Ageing Well sessions, she has already made a group of friends. She joked she did not always understand what they were saying, but that she had felt so welcomed. "They've really taken care of me," she added.
"I've been looking to join a choir for a few years but a lot of them are in the evenings," said Sian Ifans, another new member of the choir. "But having this in the afternoon and in town, I can walk here and it's free to come along. Choirs can be expensive and if you're a pensioner you can't spend much so this way you can still get involved"
This is exactly why sessions like these were set up - to help people get out the house, make new social connections and get involved in activities that improve mental health and wellbeing, explained Swansea Council Ageing Well coordinator Rhys Thomas.
He added: "We wanted to make sure people living on their own with no support networks around them felt safe and comfortable to come along. We've got seven ladies who met through the Ageing Well sessions -all widowers - and they've now booked to go on holiday together for two weeks."
Swansea Council cabinet member for community support, Hayley Gwilliam, said: "I'm thrilled that the Ageing Well Choir is already proving to be popular and it's yet another example of how our ageing well team are developing creative and affordable opportunities for people to come together.
"People don't need to have great voices or to commit to regularly attend- it's just an opportunity to come together to socialise and enjoy singing. I'd like to thank the team at Swansea Arena for working with us and making this great venue available to the choir. If you've not signed up to the newsletter I'd encourage you do so to keep up to date with all the fantastic opportunities on offer."
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