Local sweet makers team up with Vicky McClure’s choir

The Nottingham choir needs to raise £175,000 a year just to operate and has now teamed up with them to launch a range of confectionery to help reach their fundraising goals.

Bonds of London, part of the Loughborough-based World of Sweets group, is celebrating their 130th Birthday by selecting their four best-selling sweet-shop favourites to be part of a collaboration with the charity choir.

Proceeds from four nostalgic sweet flavours from its Bonds range of confectionery will be donated to the charity and organisers are hoping sweet lovers will flock to their local stores to enjoy the treat.

They’ll be creating bespoke packs of customer favourites Lemon Sherberts, Pear Drops, Butter Mintoes and Rhubarb and Custard with 10% of the proceeds going to the charity.

Our Dementia Choir began as part of a documentary series for BBC1 in 2018 and since then the choir and its members have performed across the UK even taking to the stage at Nottingham’s Splendour festival, performing with Tom Grennan.

Chris Connell from Farndon was one of the first members and says the choir has changed the lives of both him and his wife and carer Jane.

Chris was diagnosed with frontal temporal lobe dementia eleven years ago, and in 2018 he joined Vicky McClure’s Our Dementia Choir.

Music-mad Chris said: “It is amazing to be a part of the choir, it's definitely one of the best things I have been involved in. The charity is all about people living well with dementia, we aren’t suffering.

“The choir loves performing to anyone who will listen. It is a great way to connect to others and we have formed a really good group of people who come together and bond through the power of music.

“We had the opportunity to record our fist ever single, What’s your story?, at Abbey Road Studios, and as a huge Beatles fan this was definitely a highlight for me.

“We also got the opportunity to perform at The Cavern in Liverpool, where I sang three songs by The Beatles.”

As Chris’s carer and wife, Jane explains that the choir has also helped her to find a community of her own. The choir rehearses every two weeks at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, and the organisers provide the carers with an opportunity to meet and relax.

Jane said “This disease affects so many more people than those diagnosed, it has a huge impact on family, friends and carers.

“Our Dementia Choir brings us carers and family members together. The rehearsals offer a chance to all bond, relax for a while and relate to one another through our shared experiences.

“For many of us watching, it is just so powerful to see your loved one alive again.

“Dementia can take so much away from a person, and there are members of the choir who aren’t even able to speak, but they can communicate with you through singing.

“It can be easy to forget who the person was before the dementia diagnosis, and then you see them come out again when they are singing. It is really powerful.

“I feel really proud of Chris, and it is just amazing to see him enthusiastic about life again, and that's all down to the support Our Dementia Choir has been able to offer.”

Jane and Chris’s son in law Max works at World of Sweets and they’re looking forward to seeing the sweets in the shops.

Jane added: “We just can’t wait to see the sweets on shelves in stores, and we know all of the choir members are going to be really excited. We just hope lots of people get involved and buy the sweets so we can raise lots of money for Our Dementia Choir.”

Kathryn Hague, Head of Marketing at World of Sweets said: “We are so excited to be partnering with Vicky McClure’s Our Dementia Choir, this is truly a celebration of both Bonds and the amazing charity.

“The local connection is amazing, we have known about the charity since they formed in 2018 and it is so special to be able to connect with them on their project and to help fund vital transport and specialist support through sweet sales.”

Jess Johnson, Social Media Manager and Wellbeing Leaderat Our Dementia Choir said: “At Our Dementia Choir, we firmly believe in the incredible power of music to bring happiness, connection and comfort to those living with dementia. We also know sweets can bring us so much nostalgia and really help to bring a moment of joy, which is why this partnership is so brilliant.

“Our choir members are so excited about the collaboration and can’t wait to try the sweets and see them on the shelves of their local convenience stores.”

The nostalgic treats are available to buy in Tesco, Coop, Motor Fuel Group, Nisa Costcutter, One Stop shops and your local convenience store now. Packs with proceeds being donated to the choir all carry the Our Dementia Choir logo.