Singing from the heart for 11::11::11

Like so many people, I have my own reasons for remembering on this particular day and, this year, one song has captured the emotions of the day like no other.

If you live in the UK, you may have seen the wonderful Gareth Malone's latest efforts to get the entire country singing. For series 3, Gareth took himself down to Royal Marines Base (RMB) Chivenor, which is not too far from here, to encourage the wives and partners of the marines based there to form a choir. If you watched the first programme, earlier this week, you'll know what an emotional journey it was going to be, as the majority of their partners were about to be deployed to Afghanistan for six months. (The programme is still available online in the UK via BBC iPlayer here until 28 November.)

For their first public performance, the Military Wives Choir (or @milwiveschoir if you're looking for them on Twitter) sang a Bob Dylan classic, Make You Feel My Love, in the unlikely surroundings of Barnstaple Pannier Market. 

Tomorrow, the choir will be giving the performance of which, one feels sure, they will be most proud, at the Royal British Legion's annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. 

As Gareth Malone says, during the programme, it doesn't really matter what you think of the military presence in Afghanistan, these women  'are incredibly stoic - they just get on with it '. And they sing their hearts out.

Comments

[Dancing Beastie]

Thank you for reminding us about this. I missed it - I think I was at a choir rehearsal! - but I heard it was wonderful. Singing is good for the soul.

It is very dark here today. Hope your 11/11 has some brightness in it, and not just from the red of the poppies. Green fields beyond the mud and blood...

[60 Going On 16]

Dear Dancing Beastie, thank you for that most poignant and pertinent of comments. And although there have been tears, there has definitely been brightness and, yes, I am thinking of those green fields . . .

[Moira]

I too thought the choir programme was wonderful. I can be a bit cynical about presenters who become the "go to" choice for everything and I'm a bit of a tough nut to crack on the sentimental front, but Gareth Malone is genuinely good at what he does and the singing at the end had me weeping! I loved their very first performance to a military audience where the men sat stiffly with arms folded prepared to be very embarrassed by the singing and were surprised by how very good they were. As a member of a community choir myself (blogged only last week about it!) I am very aware of that surprising feeling of uncertain, unconfident people finding they can produce something good together.

[Sally]

Thank you for posting this. It's not available here so it was lovely to see this. A beautiful song; this made me cry.