Musicians: Barney Keen (guitar, vocals) Nat Keen (guitar, vocals) Davide de Rose (drums)
Spitz Founding Director (Jane Glitre) and General Manager (Thom Rowlands) recently attended a workshop hosted by NAPA (the National Activity Providers Association). While there we met some fantastic people from across the arts-in-care sector, including Shona Bradbury, manager of Appleby House Care Home near Epsom in Surrey.
At the end of the workshop, having all spoken about the work our organisations do and discussed ideas and best practice, Shona approached us and insisted that we come to Appleby House and put on a session for her residents and staff…
Appleby House is a large care home set in beautiful grounds and is home to some 135 residents, all of whom have dementia. The Spitz were invited to provide music for an afternoon party as part of Care Home Open Week on 30th June. Shona was hoping for a 60s festival atmosphere so Spitz musicians Barney and Nat Keen stepped up, joined by their long-time collaborator, drummer and bassist Davide de Rose.

There’s never a guarantee of good weather at a festival and that rule held true on Friday. We arrived to a light drizzle and some glum faces. Facilities manager Thomas was there to save the day however and quickly erected two gazebos for the band to set up under. Who needs the Pyramid Stage!?
The band opened with a string of Brazilian numbers, and residents were very impressed with Barney’s multi-lingual vocal ability. “How does he know Portuguese!?”. Resident June was celebrating her birthday so after a loud rendition of “Happy Birthday”, the band took a well-earned break to enjoy some BBQ. (The similarities with Bridgeside Lodge continue…)
In the second set we had requests for The Beatles, Elvis and Frank Sinatra and soon the whole garden was singing along to “All You Need Is Love”.

Spitz GM Thom spoke with visiting relatives about the difficultly of having a loved-one with dementia and they shared ideas and experiences on ways to navigate the changes that come with this illness. It’s incredibly difficult for family and friends but there are resources and communities that can help, even if it’s just knowing you’re not alone. We encourage anyone who is dealing with issues around dementia to reach out and ask for help.
As the band announced their final song (to loud and raucous booing) resident Shirley asked if she could join them on stage for a rendition of Fly Me To The Moon. We’d spotted Shirley throughout the session, singing along to almost every word of every song and I this was a perfect way to end a really lovely visit in which we felt that we’d made some new friends. We’re looking forward to returning.