In September 2019, when most of us would hardly have been giving a thought to the functioning of our lungs, I went to record a singing session with Breathe Music in Essex.  It was a beautiful autumn day.  Children were playing in the playground outside the community hall.  Nobody had any idea what lay over the horizon.  This podcast comes in two parts...Before and After.    In the first we hear harpist Mary Anne Barclay who founded Breathe Music five years ago and Linda Leech, a nurse specialist in lung health who prescribes singing for her patients.   All the singers you hear here are under the strictest form of self isolation now and Linda is about to join the hard-pressed specialist nurses working in intensive care.  I catch up with them in the second part of this podcast.  Mary Anne's harp-playing weaves its way through the piece and I have deliberately left the ending unedited so you can experience the calm felt by the singers at the end of the session.  No more coughs...just peace and companionship.

 Mary Anne can be contacted at www.breathemusic.org.uk 

'Colchester Breathe Easy is a friendly support group for people suffering from lung conditions and their partners/carers. We hold monthly meetings in which we have guest speakers and refreshments. Membership is free.  All you have do is  fill in a registration form.'

'Once you become a member this entitles you to join our weekly Exercise [£2] and Singing {£3] sessions. We are always welcoming new members,  if you are interested please contact John Price at [email protected] '