Arthur's heart-warming new friendships
Written by Anita, Arthur’s Granddaughter
Arthur was 91 years old when Songs & Smiles started, he was very reluctant to join as he was the only male participant. After the first few sessions he came away from Songs & Smiles with a smile on his face and talked about how the children had brought that sparkle back into his life, and gave him a new lease of life as his great grandchildren were now grown up.
Week upon week he would get up every Thursday with the excitement of seeing the children, in his own words:
“I love my Thursdays with the children, it’s the only day of the week I look forward to, seeing the smiles from the babies and how they love the bubbles.”
Arthur saw quite a few children over the terms and during the last term, he was particularly fond of one certain child who sat on Arthur’s knee week after week interacting together whilst singing along and shaking the shakers.
Arthur was very eager to get involved during the sessions and the little girl in the picture above showed everyone and Arthur how she had learnt to put her own coat on, but she was struggling with her shoes, so Arthur got onto the floor and helped her put her little trainers on.
When Arthur’s health began to deteriorate, he still managed to attend most sessions interacting with all the children. Unfortunately, Arthur sadly passed away aged 93, just before our final term of Songs & Smiles, and even then, he managed to say:
“I’m going to miss the children on Thursdays, tell them I’m sorry.”
Arthur loved each and every one of those children that attended, as Arthur’s granddaughter it brought that sense of happiness and put a smile on my face, just to see how happy he was during the sessions. It brought a huge amount of joy to his life and would always have a smile on his face whilst talking about it.
Songs & Smiles had a massive impact on Arthur, not only did it bring joy and happiness, but it also promoted social cohesion. I would like to thank Songs & Smiles for the joy you brought to Arthur, and I sincerely hope others can benefit from the amazing work you do.
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