My hard copy, paperback book has been well-travelled as you can see from the front! I bought it ages ago – in September 2024 – and in the hope I will get through it, even if a couple of pages at a time, I kept taking it with me to places when I had a spare 10 mins to read, usually at pick up time or in between tasks or on the weekend in my relaxation or “spare” time. I would also move it up and down the house as a reminder to read it!

However, even though I got through 20 pages or so over that time, something else always took over, and it was taking forever to get through it, to the point I never thought I would finish it…. I would always get distracted by something I’m doing or listening to a talk or some music on my phone, and most of the time, I couldn’t muster up the motivation to just sit and pause with a book, even if for 10-15 minutes.

I’ve been finding it hard to get back into the habit of reading, especially over the past year whilst I’ve been pouring a lot of my energy into looking for a new part-time role, and making the time to read for pleasure.

I went on holiday to Lanzarote over the past week and took this book with me (as well as my Kindle which was probably a bit optimistic!) and have now again (finally) realised the joy that reading can bring, which I had forgotten about after it’s been so long since I’ve been engrossed in a book.

It is nice still to read for pleasure – and a different exercise to the kind of reading I do for work. As a freelance Editor, I have to read through lots of different, interesting, inspiring articles and so I am naturally in the habit of reading things and making sure it all flows well and the spelling and grammar is correct. When reading for relaxation however, I don’t have the worry of all the editing I usually do, but I do have to be careful not to put my “Editor hat” on when reading in this way especially when I occasionally spot the odd spelling error in the text I’m reading!

As with everything I do, I need to make a habit of reading to be able to fit this into my busy schedule.

Anyway, so back to my original point. I’ve been ploughing through Caroline Redman Lusher’s book over the past week whilst on holiday, and even though I really wasn’t sure what to expect, I was really excited to read it to find out more about Caroline, who is the gem behind the scenes and set-up of Rock Choir, a community choir that I am passionate about, that operates all over the UK.

I’m now over half way through the book, and wow, this lady is incredible. She has absolutely put her heart and soul into the making of Rock Choir, and the pure passion for what she does and continues to create is just amazing.

Her sheer determination, hard work and perseverance in making her dreams come well and truly alive is astounding despite all the obstacles and health challenges that she has faced along the way. She has given so much of herself and her life to the success of it as I see for myself, and it continues to evolve over time.

She has managed to achieve a brilliant name for herself in the name of Rock Choir which I am so proud to be a member of for the past six years. I am also personally grateful for what she has created and to be part of this growing rock singing movement and all that it stands for in helping members feel part of a community with a shared passion for pop music, helping us all build meaningful friendships and more importantly, helping us connect to our authentic selves through the magical power of song.

Caroline is so dedicated in the way she cares so much about her team behind the scenes who have helped her to “run the show”, and also, including the choir leaders that she has nurtured throughout her journey since the very beginning. The work that she has put into growing the choirs all over the country bit by bit has been really inspiring.

I feel her excitement in the book as she celebrates every step of her journey, the bliss she experiences at every stage alongside her ever growing achievements and the community initiatives she has taken part in, all with the purpose of raising awareness of Rock Choir and all the good it strives to do and support.

As a current member, I feel like I’m part of the book! I am continually inspired by all that she has created, continues to create and the joy it brings to all of us. I can’t wait to start my weekly session when the new Autumn term starts in September.

It always seems like a long time between sessions when the holidays start, which is why I make sure I organise a session or two of karaoke in between with the community group I set up in 2018 for ladies who love to let their hair loose in North London and enjoy a sing-song and dance. Rock Choir is what set off my passion for singing, though it has always been a passion of mine since I was a little girl – it lay a bit dormant for a while until I opened the door again. I remember always loving singing along to songs being played on my stereo system (remember those??) using paper lyrics to remind myself of the words of the song.

If we can’t find the right words to say to express how we feel about something, we can always find a song that will pull it out of us and that we can relate to. There are plenty of songs out there for everyone to experience.

Singing opens up a whole new world for us all no matter what kind of voice we have or our understanding of music – it really is so good for our wellbeing, it brings us peace, such a lot of joy and is such a great way to connect us all no matter our colour, race or ethnic origin; it also opens up those blocked communication channels within our voice to help us express ourselves in a positive way and simply release any negative, unwanted, blocked energy from our bodies. It really does make us come alive!

In early August, I attended a “Big Sing” – run by my choir leader Simon Reynolds – which involved three of his choirs getting together as one in a big school hall in Pinner. The atmosphere is wild when so many of us are singing the same tunes and harmonies devised by Caroline, along with the moves too. There is such a magical atmosphere in the room and you can feel all the joy and love oozing off us all, especially when singing favourites like Hallelujah, A Thousand Years, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Call Me (a new favourite) and lots more. I love all the fantastic community events Rock Choir puts on, even though I can’t unfortunately always go to them all, whether it is just for us Rockies or whether it’s performing in parks or at community events, helping to do our bit in our community in North London to bring joy and spread fun, uplifting, musical vibes across the UK.

Now I’d better get on with finishing the second half of the book….