Need help this Christmas?
SING!
I know many people have mixed feelings about this time of year - I certainly do. Partly because it’s a time of year when people close to me have died (father and husband) and also because, as someone who is semi-recovered* from an eating disorder, Christmas (and all the associated food) punches so many of my triggers that it’s difficult to think straight.
*recovered or semi-recovered tend to be terms bandied about by those who haven’t a clue about eating disorders. Just because you look fine (ie not too thin/fat) doesn’t mean that your head is.
But for me the real spirit of Christmas was captured with my choir, The Suitcase Singers, at our gigs last week. On Tuesday we sang at the stables at Cusgarne Manor, where we had the company of some beautiful horses, one of which was so friendly, he kept wanting to partake of my mulled wine/mince pie and when that wasn’t forthcoming, he tried to nuzzle our hair/hoods/coats.
On Friday we sang to a packed Ferryboat pub down on the Helford, and it was such a wonderful feeling, singing our hearts out to an audience who clearly LOVED it, that I felt that nothing can ever be as good as this gig. (This affected me so deeply that I didn’t get to sleep till after 4 the next morning, but that’s another matter.)
The next day we did it again at Loveday Distillery, on an industrial estate in Falmouth where they make gin. I’d never been there before but it was like walking into a setting for a perfect Christmas play - a roaring woodturner, festive decorations and mulled apple juice (with rum for those that weren’t driving) and mince pies.
Once again, our brilliant musical director, Claire Ingleheart, guided us and the audience and once again they LOVED it. Not a dry eye in the house at one stage - I’m known as the Blubometer so it’s a given that I cry most of the way through anyway.
I now feel sorry for those that don’t belong to a choir, for it has to be one of the best feelings ever. And for those of us who struggle with Christmas, it’s also a lifeline. So if in doubt and feeling terrible, SING. If you’re worried about not singing in tune, put some music on and sing in the car, the shower or somewhere where you won’t be heard. The important thing is to sing and enjoy it.
On that note, (sorry), I shall wish you all a joyful time and a creative and healthy 2026. I’m getting on with book four now….