11 June 2020
We’ve felt the love in our development communities over the last few months more than ever before, with our residents supporting each other and the NHS to keep spirits high at a challenging time. This post is just a small way of thanking our Everyday Hero residents at FirstPort developments for all their efforts and enthusiasm.
Music to our ears
We wanted to give a special mention to those who have gone out of their way to bring a little sunshine to a gloomy time for many.
And that’s exactly what our resident opera singer, Charlotte and her concert pianist partner, George have done. Delighting their neighbours with weekly performances from their balcony.
What started out as an experiment involving a camera sellotaped to a plant pot to film their performances has become a much-anticipated weekly courtyard concert.
Charlotte says: “I must admit that I was a little nervous at first but we thought it was time to be brave and try to do something nice for our community using the skills we have. We set up and let rip. One by one, we saw windows open. People came out onto their balconies. One young woman in the courtyard who was on the phone began to share the experience with her loved one during their FaceTime call. There was a father dancing with his daughter. After we finished the first song, there was applause. It gave us the courage to continue and we started to perform our little hearts out.
“After our first concert, we were overjoyed to feel the support and encouragement from our neighbours and the request for more music. We even received some chocolates, flowers and even beautiful drawings from our little neighbour upstairs.
“It has been a breath of fresh air to feel close to the lovely people who live near me. I feel connected to a bigger community, a neighbourly relationship that reminded me of my childhood. I grew up with friendly neighbours and we were in and out of each other’s homes. George also grew up in a really close community in Romania where all the neighbours knew each other.”
Drawings from Charlotte and George’s young neighbours to say thank you
You can listen to Charlotte and George’s balcony concerts via YouTube, here.
Thank you, NHS
From the ‘spine-tingling’ displays of support for our NHS with Clap for Carers happening across our developments, to Wow moments like when Mercedes and Alex from one of our developments in London performed uplifting classics such as ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ on brass and string instruments for fellow residents from the rooftop garden straight after Clap for Carers.
We also want to recognise the two NHS doctors at our development, Renaissance in London, who, despite their relentless and draining work commitments, found the time to collect old gadgets from their neighbours so patients who have had to go without visitors could video call their loved ones. They commented that it created big smiles on faces which haven’t had smiles in a long while.
It’s the people – residents and colleagues alike – that make our communities so special and we’re so very proud to be part of them.
