Give Me Time

Last year I collaborated with Vicky Guise and the Cardiff And Vale Aphasia-friendly Choir to put music to the choir's words, representing their experiences of living with aphasia. That process culminated in a song called "Give Me Time", which was performed at Llandaff Cathedral!

Vicky Guise says:

June is #aphasiaawarenessmonth, when the lack of general community awareness of the condition and the impact this has on those living with aphasia becomes increasingly discussed.

This became a topic of discussion during one session of the Cardiff and Vale Aphasia Friendly choir, with members talking together about times they have felt frustrated and misunderstood. This conversation led to the development of a song writing project. Members of the chorus very generously shared with me what they wished the public knew about life with a communication difficulty, and these words became the lyrics to the song 'Give Me Time'. Working in partnership with singer-songwriter Richard F. Jackson, the choir went on to debut their song in Llandaff Cathedral.

The chorus of the song, I feel, leaves us with a message of the power of patience and understanding:

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘵, 
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦, 
𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 
𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

Press release from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board:

https://cavuhb.nhs.wales/news/latest-news/aphasia-friendly-choir-debuts-song/