Let's not forget – Kinloss Military Wives Choir plan to mark VE Day
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE Kinloss Military Wives Choir has come up with a plan to ensure the 75th anniversary of VE Day does not go unmarked in Moray as the coronavirus crisis casts its long shadow.
The forced cancellation of performances, including a wedding, several concerts and community visits, was disappointing for the group.
However, the choir says there is one celebration that cannot go unmarked – the events to signal 75 years since the guns fell silent at the end of the war in Europe.
Many local and national events had been lined up for the VE Day 75 weekend between May 8-10. The Kinloss choir, which has around 30 members, had planned a performance with pipers in Forres.
As an alternative, tomorrow the choir will launch its Remembrance Rocks campaign, whereby people can decorate rocks to mark VE Day and display them on their doorsteps.
Lorna Alexander, of the choir's events team, said: "We have been looking at something we could do instead to show that VE Day has not been forgotten.
"There have been so many big-name pop-up choirs appear online, so we decided to go for a less technical, non-singing solution with our Remembrance Rocks campaign.
"Hopefully every household in Moray and beyond will have a painted rock, remembering VE Day on their doorstep or in their garden."
The group is encouraging children and adults to pick up some pebbles while outside on daily exercise and get creative to show their support.
Char Heskith, choir member and chairperson of the families committee at Kinloss Barracks, said: "Even though this is a horrible time, it's lovely to see people coming together and being so willing to help one another.
"We are hoping we can do a performance further down the line, when this threat is over."
Lorna added: "We would also love to see this carried on after VE weekend with a 'keyworkers rock' – visible on every doorstep.
"It would be a bright, colourful, cheerful lasting visual support for each and every key worker who has kept the country afloat through these strange times."
The choir members are still able to sing, chat, rehearse and lift each others spirits through weekly gatherings online via Zoom.
Lorna added: "Singing is fantastic for mental health, but in times like this there is so much more to our role within the military community.
"Many of us have deployed husbands, but among the choir we have medics and many key workers. We feel it is so important to ensure that no one slips under the radar.
"We check up on what our ladies and their families need before going shopping, and try to help our shielded and self-isolated members with prescriptions, dog walking etc."
The choir will open a Remembrance Rocks event on its Facebook page tomorrow.
Last month the Kinloss Military Wives Choir, along with their Lossiemouth counterparts, performed as a flash mob at Elgin's Moray Playhouse at the premiere of the film Military Wives.
