This week a woman lost her husband and life-partner of 73 years, they first met in 1939 when he was 19, she just 13, later marrying in 1947. The feeling of emptiness when someone passes is immense and after so many years, I can only imagine how this must feel. In our lifetime we will all lose someone close to us and sadly this last year has hastened that day for so many. I have no time for anyone who is not understanding of loss and in particular I have no time for anyone who is unkind. It is simply unacceptable whatever the circumstance and whoever the person. But we don’t live in a world where everyone is kind and whilst the benefits of the internet and social media are vast, it is all too easy to criticise and be unkind and uncaring through this medium. Thankfully, the tributes and messages of support have outweighed any negativity.

Tomorrow sees the next step along the road to recovery and the slow lifting of restrictions. There is still caution and nerves and rightly so! The numbers of recorded deaths are the lowest in seven months and the cases are still reducing. I won’t be rushing out to do anything wild this week or indeed in the next few weeks, but I will welcome the opportunity to sit outside a coffee shop and read.

My choirs ceased rehearsals in March 2020 and by the end of April they will all have been online for 52 weeks. We will return eventually, but slowly and safely and we will wallow in the glorious sounds of other voices. That is what we have missed, and it will be so welcome when we can experience it again. Perhaps more than ever on the road back to singing we will need each other, but the combined strength that choirs throughout the nation and indeed the world will give to each other will be unparalleled. Every singer will know just how the other is feeling, from the youngest to the oldest, it will all be the same. Singing together, in one voice and this will sustain us through our journey back to being able to make music once more. Let’s be positive and kind on our way back!