We asked our readers to send us 15 seconds of video so that we can create a snapshot of Edinburgh during lockdown.
Then Kirsty from Sing in the City got her girls to send us their videos – so many we have given them a video of their own…..
We asked for 15 seconds of you at your front door. Show us what you see we said. Some of you sent us lovely calming photos and video. And then @Singinthecity sent us this….. for goodness sake buy their charity single or they will keep sending us videos!! pic.twitter.com/NAfmlOmsch
— Edinburgh Reporter (@EdinReporter) April 28, 2020
Do go and buy the single if you can. (It would stop them sending us video…..) It is to raise money for a really worthy cause, the Scottish Action for Mental Health Charity.
Sing in the City perform at all sorts of events and we have had the pleasure of meeting them and hearing their singing all over Edinburgh. It is a great choir and when all of this is over you may have the privilege of hearing them sing in public again.
They say on their website: “Hanley and the Baird, Directors of Sing in the City have a top 30 single in the UK charts right now that we would love you to download and share. Follow the Rainbows is now available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music and Spotify. All the proceeds from this song are going to SAMH
“The song was inspired by our Sing in the City members and it’s their interaction and enthusiasm that has seen the song race up the charts in less than 24 hours. Please download and share the song and help a charity and 2 Scottish musicians do the unthinkable with the help of their amazing SitC members.”
Kirsty Baird told us: “It is well documented and has never been truer, that singing is a positive aid for good mental health which has been evident through how the choir members have adjusted and adapted during this difficult time.
“Even before the UK quarantine was put in place it was clear that the Sing in The City members were more afraid of the isolation than they were of the virus. Choir means more than just singing to our members, it is interaction, friendship and laughter and as the quarantine began, normality was soon replaced with anxiety. Like all businesses and individuals, we have all adapted to the new norm.
“Sing in the City moved all rehearsals online and created daily sessions to try and keep our members (their friends and families), engaged, together and connected.”
The song was inspired following a zoom chat between Kirsty and choir members to discuss how everyone was feeling, the words and feelings shared by the members have been incorporated into the song lyrics.
Kirsty continued: ‘’Over the last four weeks we have seen our members shine, sharing their artwork and projects. Watched them develop, learn and help less technical people get online and take part in live rehearsals, sing-alongs and online chats. Everyone exercising patience and compassion. It has been beautiful to be part of and has certainly helped to keep my own personal anxieties at bay. We were always going to do something for our 10th anniversary but we could never have guessed it would have been writing and producing a song and a video in a lock down scenario.”
The mental health charities SAMH were selected as beneficiaries as Baird and Hanley believe that mental health will be greatly affected in the months to follow as a result of the virus Covid-19 with many people suffering from anxiety which have never previously experienced this problem.
Anyway the thing is we are still looking for snippets of video from you off the view from your front door, your window or from your daily walk – send them by WeTransfer or email or WhatsApp to editor@theedinburghreporter.co.uk
Follow the Rainbows is ready to download on now on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Deezer, Apple Music https://music.apple.com…/follow-the-rainbows-si…/1509447221 https://amazon.co.uk…/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_7FNPEbYB2… https://open.spotify.com/album/2O0JzzYD8668wJa7d7409x…… Charity Fund Raising page in aid of SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/singinthecity…
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.