Charity rolls out across UK

A Bath-born charity which has seen the lives of older people enriched by singing is set to take off across the UK in the next year.

The Golden-Oldies, launched by conductor Grenville Jones, right, in January last year, provides weekly singalong sessions for pensioners across the city.

The charity, which has become known as Goldies, operates 40 sessions across the South West.

There are now 12 sessions running in Bath alone, along with a monthly Big Sing, which joins all the individual groups together in one large singalong.

There are also groups in south Gloucestershire, Portishead, Weston-super-Mare, Gloucester and Withywood in Bristol.

Mr Jones hopes the Midlands will be the next region to support the successful initiative.

He said: "We are set on increasing the number of sessions in the west to 100 by the close of 2009.

"I am in talks with Bristol City Council as well as a number of other local authorities.

"By this time next year I hope to be able to announce that Goldies will be launching across the Midlands as our next region.

"We could be running hundreds of sessions by the end of 2012."

For more information on Goldies, visit www.golden-oldies.org.uk.