Golden-Oldies, very special centenary

PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Pic shows

Goldies chair of Trustees Mike Richardson with founder Grenville Jones and (front) long serving session leader Jacqui Cook, from Timsbury, with new Bollywood session leader Gloria Rajput and Dhek Bhal chief executive Zehra Haq.

Grenville in full flight

Members of the Bollywood Goldies lead the singing

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A singing charity that started in Bath 7 years ago celebrated a very special centenary on Monday morning of this week. 

The Golden-Oldies started life in January 2007 with just four daytime fun sing-along sessions for older vulnerable people living at sheltered housing community rooms. The sessions then were all taken by the charities founder Bath music-man Grenville Jones working with Somer Housing. 

Seven years on, ‘Goldies’, fondly known as the sing and smile charity, launched its ONE HUNDREDTH venue, singing Bollywood Bhangra music in partnership with South Asian older people from the Bristol and South Gloucestershire Dhek Bhal Community. 

Over 10,000 sessions have taken place since the first ones in Bath and there are now 35 dedicated session leaders. 

Goldies small beginnings in Bath & North East Somerset were at Peasedown, Bathampton, Southdown and Keynsham. There are now 17 across B&NeS including new sessions at Westfield, Oldfield Park and Odd Down, added in recent months . The popular monthly Big Sing at the Carrswood Day Centre, Twerton, also brings together Goldies from across B&NeS and is enjoyed by adults with learning difficulties who attend the centre. 

In Bath, Goldies works in partnership with Curo and is supported by the Roper Family Trust. Goldies now reaches out across Southern England with sessions in Bristol, Essex, Staffs, Hampshire, Gloucester, Wiltshire, Somerset and in South Wales, as Goldies Cymru, with its popular formula using the memory-evoking songs of the 60s and onwards. It plans to expand its work across the whole of the UK in the years ahead under the banner, GOLDIES UK.


Goldies Chair of Trustees is Bath based accountant , Mike Richardson. He said; 

“We are a very small charity and still only have one full-time member of staff. Without question it is the pure energy and enthusiasm of our founder Grenville Jones that has driven us forward. It is quite remarkable what he has achieved.

“In recent months our development across Southern England and Wales underlines our vision to reach out to older people across the whole of the United Kingdom as Goldies UK.

“Working in partnership with our local hospice in Bath, Dorothy House, 2015 will see the opening of our first Goldies Charity Shop. Not surprisingly, Grenville intends to make this the first singing shop in the world with regular Goldies singing sessions taking place each month in the shop!”

www.golden-oldies.org.uk is the English website.

www.goldiescymru.org.uk is the Welsh website.

ENDS

Press enquiries to Grenville Jones on 07778 282934.