Choirs in Scotland return for socially-distanced singing

Choirs across Scotland have been getting back to socially-distanced singing as Covid restrictions ease.

The Clydebank Male Voice Choir in West Dunbartonshire and Castle Douglas People's Choir in Dumfries and Galloway are among those returning.

Some things have changed - extra ventilation and standing well apart - but they are just glad to be back.

Members of both groups said it meant a lot to them to be able to sing together again once more.

The Clydebank group's president, Tom McRae, said it had been sorely missed.

"You can sing in a car, you can sing in your shower, but when you get together with the choir, it's a totally different singing altogether," he said.

"You can fill your lungs and really just let it go and it's good to get everybody together.

"We've been doing it together for most of us for over 10 years, so it makes a big difference when you get back together."

He said there was "good banter" in the group which hadn't work so well online.

"We tried to do Zoom - but it sort of fell on its face a wee bit," he said.

Mr McRae said it was a "great feeling" to be back together as a sign of restrictions easing.

But he said it was particularly poignant to resume activities after one member of the choir died very early in the pandemic.

"It's very hard to pick up and try and sing those songs again, but we really have to just try and get on with it," he added.

Choir member Gordon Hamilton said that singing was a big help to him after his wife died in 2019.

"The choir was really good for me," he said. "To get that camaraderie, friendship and support."

He said it was "hard to take" when the choir stopped during lockdown.

He added: "I love music, I love singing and I love listening to music. It is a great hobby.

"It's just marvellous to come back here and sing with the guys."

Clydebank's conductor Aileen Barnet also welcomed the return.

"They sing well and they enjoy singing and they enjoy each other's company so it's all good," she said.

"Singing is good for your health.

"They are all very good singers - so that makes my job easy. They just got on so well together and sing so well together as a group."

In Castle Douglas, conductor Stuart Butterworth said The People's Choir started up in 2014 as "singing for the terrified".

"They don't want to do any auditions, they don't want to do any voice tests and just want to sit down and start singing," he explained.

He said that - like the Clydebank group - they were doing everything they could to make sessions as Covid-safe as possible.

Singer Janice Maxwell from Haugh of Urr said she was glad to be back regardless of any constraints.

"I just missed it so much - I get so much from it," she said.

"I'm not a great singer, but I love singing in the choir. It just means everything."

Ms Maxwell said it was important to meet up again - even with social distancing in place.

"It's heading towards normality, whatever normality may be from now on," she said.

"It's a bit of normality back in my life and it was needed - I can assure you."

Fellow member, Ken Kilcullen, said the choir was one of the things he really missed during lockdown.

He added: "Whether you can sing or not makes not the slightest bit of difference, as long as you're there to enjoy yourself."