Cultural activity groups

The testimonies by others in this forum are so inspirational! More people need to be aware just how many varied opportunities exist. Who would not feel uplifted becoming a volunteer at a museum (or hospital), joining a choir of suitable skill level, or sharing some other passion with new friends? Turn off the TV and join a more interesting world!

Myself, I sing in some choirs, play in some music groups, and am on the committee of a concert society which puts on classical concerts locally at very affordable prices. Join me!

Previously, a member of my local Art Society. (I do watercolour and silk painting)

Attended Jewellery - making classes, ar Coulsdon CALAT, until it was closed down. 

My husband is an artist and I qualified as an architect although I no longer work in architecture. Its hard being an artist in London; studio space is unaffordable for most artists. There should be more focus on the income that the arts generate for the UK and artists trying to develop their careers should be better supported. My husband has taught in a prison for over 20 years and although art is one of the subjects that is most tangible and popluar for people who have struggled with mainstream education, arts education in the prison adult education prgramme has been cut completely.

I am a member of my local bell-ringing group. There are bell-ringing groups in churches all over London, (very) loosely affiliated through the Middlesex County Association of church bell-ringers north of the Thames and the Surrey Association south of the Thames. It's a great social activity for people of all ages from about 12 years old upwards. We have lots of fun. Bell-ringing has a 400 year history as a cultural activity in England so there is lots of heritage involved.

Like the other low-cost, volunteer-run music groups (choirs, bands etc) we are under pressure these days. As I see it there are two main problems. The first is the increasingly burdensome regulation that every voluntary group is now under (just try opening a bank account for a local music club to see how many hoops you have to jump through these days!). The second problem is that our society now doesn't value anything cultural unless people have to pay for it and the more you pay the more it's worth. So if you take part in a low-cost activity like bell-ringing you're seen as "free loading". And if ONE PERSON doesn't like the type of music you play then you're in a world of trouble.

I am a parent governor in my daughter's school. I decideed to get involve because I wanted to know what was going on in the school and if they were taking the right choices and working hard to implement the school which went from good to special requirements. because the school just joined an Academy and many decisions will have to be made to implement the school I wanted to be part of this and give my contribution.

I am also a volunteer at my local Theatre. This Theatre is very special because they let everyone perform, from child, to adult, to disabled to old. It's a very inclusive place with lots of things going on. Since my daughter joined them I decided to help them as much as possible.

I take part in a local community choir, Victoria Park Singers. Singing has been proved to be good for mental and physical health and well-being, and teh choir gives us the opportunity to meet like-minded peop,le in our locality and work with them to create something fantastic which we then showcase to friends and relatives in our termly concerts, and raise money for charity.

Nothing would persuade me to take part in anything communal.  I live in the heart of London, surrounded by millions of people and round the clock noise. All I want is privacy and peace and quiet. There is less and less of this available. Our local green space is being turned into a commercial events venue, expensively ticketed events and late night noisy parties. The next nearest park has also been turned into an events space, blocked off from free public access for most of the year.   Nobody is preventing this from happening.

There are a couple of craft groups  locally for older people but all very basic as are any computer groups, also lunch clubs, tai chai and gentle exercise but nothing that improves one knowledge of learning new skills or much in the way of sport. our nearest sports hall is 6 miles away and an hours journey! Really miss the leisure evening classes where one could learn something new every year and meet new people, all finished now.

I used to do different activities every year mainly by way of leisure evening classes, sport, sculpture, art and computers when they first became popular to name a few sadly they have all closed and now I am left with the option of Tai Chai, lunches, gentle exercise, boring and bland, certainly little opportunity to learn new skills and keep the brain active.

I go to a community choir.  Local to where I live.  I heard about it during anxiety week some years ago and just dropped by to see and kept going ever since. I like that it is local do when it's over I have a short walk home.  I like that there is no pressure.  I like that the choir is mixed in many ways.  I like the variety of songs especially when we do some in other languages.  I like that the choir performs on occasions. 

I help running a knitting group that meets on East Village E20. It is very hard to find an evening space that is not a pub, and does not charge for us to meet. Pubs lighting and noise levels mean they are often not suitable. We are very lucky in that a local cafe is kind enough to open late just for us. East Village has been trying in vein for 2 years to get the community space promised in the plans to come about. If developers promise something they should be expected to provide it within a reasonable timescale.

There are no free choirs to join in the Westend, can the Mayor please support making free choirs possible? Central London local communities have been hit so badly by commerce. There are building sites everywhere, like crossrail and hotel endeavours biting chunks off the areas turning them into disjuncted rubble, and tourist traps, and local community venues are non existent. It's high time that central London local communities who bear the brunt of enormous financial gains in the UK are given back their community. We need community centres that offer affordable - truly affordable - spaces for choirs, theatre groups, artistic initiatives for local residents. We need truly affordable social housing in central London. Stop wrapping air in concrete and selling it to investors who have no interest in ever even living here.

I recently started going to weekly classes in English Country Dance at Cecil Sharp House. I was attracted to it as a form of exercise that would be more fun than the gym - and because I miss occasions to dance in life, It;s great fun and very sociable. It helped encourage me to go that they pitch it as 'drop-in' so it doesn't matter if you know you an't make every week. And that's it's relaxed and open to all levels. All very reassuring. And that it's fine to go alone without a dance partner.