Buckinghamshire funeral directors start choir to reduce loneliness

A firm of funeral directors has started a choir to help reduce loneliness.

CPJ Field began weekly singing sessions at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, as part of an ongoing 'Never Alone' campaign.

The choir meets in the daytime which Maria Butler, who started the choir, said has been an important aspect.

She added: "The people we attract don't want to come out in the evenings, they are lonely, they do feel isolated and this is the perfect venue for it."

Ms Butler, community champion for CPJ Field, said there "aren't any other choirs in the daytime" and more than 30 people attended the group on a weekly basis.

Heather Rose and her husband Terry celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a performance from the choir.

She said: "We came to the church hall for coffee and they asked us to go and sit in front of the choir and the choir sang to us two lovely songs and it was so emotional.

"We came out with tears in our eyes."

Regular choir member Jeannette Grexhammer, 75, believed the group would "help [with] loneliness and forge new friendships."

She added: "It will help people who are on their own to make new friends, especially if they have sung in the past, and they want to revive their singing like me."

CPG Field's Never Alone programme is designed to provide easy access to groups who could support those suffering with loneliness.

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