Yesterday, I went to a singing workshop with my Mum and a friend and I had such a brilliant time.

It has been so long since I sang properly as part of a group, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy it. It distracted me from feeling wonky from my medication and it cheered me up all the way through, I felt so light afterwards. (I was also knackered, but that’s beside the point!)

The workshop was run by Richard Frostick, and it was excellent.

Attended by a mixture of people – some who sing in professional choirs, and others who just sing for fun (like me) – we learned several different pieces in a variety of styles. From an African chant to a recent pop hit, via a piece believed to have been penned by King Henry VIII – there really was a little bit of everything!

We worked in four (and sometimes even five) part harmonies as well as all together and it was so relaxed and no-pressure that the day simply flew by!

I caught up with some people I haven’t seen for years, and met others I had never seen before, and we all felt like friends from the moment it started, which was lovely.

Richard’s obvious love and passion for singing and music just drew you in – it was contagious how excited he was about everything. I wouldn’t normally be enthralled by a Tudor-era song, but I really loved it because he helped us find the joy in it and to see past the immediate thought of ‘it’s going to be old and fusty.’

The only trouble is, now I want to do it all over again!

I have had James Bay’s Hold Back The River stuck in my head pretty much since I left yesterday afternoon, but I think my favourite song out of the ones we did was the super pretty Song For A Winter’s Night by Gordon Lightfoot.

Not only is the tune lovely, the words are gorgeous – and I know it’s not quite Winter yet, but I’m going to put it in here anyway for you. The original version, that is, not our version!