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10th May 2025
The gorgeous countryside rolled past our coach windows - hedges laden with hawthorn, fields of wheat and barley (doing ok but in need of rain), lambs and ewes and drystone walls. We were en route to Cirencester, to one of the most beautiful Cotswold churches in this beautiful town - to sing! And once we'd arrived and settled in, we mingled with the two other choirs from Bristol and Oxford. We sang, and they sang, we sang together. And after a short break - for coffee, visiting the market, looking at the public gardens beside the church - we sang some more. Lunchtime was for picnics in the sun, chatting and browsing, and then we practised again as the excitement mounted for our public performance. As the hour approached, people started to wander into the church and sit down, probably not quite sure what they were going to hear. Then we sang our hearts out and the audience clapped and cheered and whooped, and our brilliant choir leaders persuaded us all to take a bow. 
Thanks to John Pettit for the words and Kathy Goldsmith for the photo.

MKCC joined four other choirs in Midsummer Place in Milton Keynes shopping centre on Thursday 3rd April, 2025 to raise funds to equip an ambulance going to Ukraine. The afternoon was started by Mavka, a trio of young Ukrainian women who sang some beautiful folk songs from their home country.  TGI Choir then joined them singing a couple of songs in Ukrainian  before continuing with their classical choral repertoire. MKCC followed  with a range of folk, popular and acapella numbers. Other choirs participating were the ladies barbershop choir - Junction 14 and our sister choir -  the Sweet Sound Gospel Choir. A fantastic amount was raised from the collection and an auction of three donated paintings which came to £1,546.67. Thanks to Phil Catterall for the photo.

Click the link below to hear a recording made by Horizon Radio.

Ross and Joy from Thames Valley Air Ambulance came to the choir's rehearsal on 8th February to receive a cheque for £530. This sum was raised from donations made alongside ticket sales for MKCC's Christmas recording and from the collection made at the carol singing in the Hub.  When gift aid is taken into account the choir has raised over £600 for the TVAA.

On behalf of TVAA, Ross thanked us for raising the money for the charity, which would contribute towards keeping the emergency helicopters in the air and the fast response vehicles running!

Nicola Bishop, the TVAA's Community Fundraising Officer thanked us by letter and enclosed a certificate from TVAA (attached to this post) recognising our fundraising achievement. In the letter she said:
"This is an amazing amount of money, which could keep one of our emergency response vehicles on the road for 10 days, bringing the expertise, equipment and medication of the hospital to where it is needed most, so thank you so much.

Thanks to people like you we have been able to make huge developments in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine. Our teams have at their fingertips the latest life support kit such as a compact chest compressor which allows us to continue treatment at the same time as keeping the heart pumping. We carry blood on board for on scene transfusions and a hospital level blood analyser which can give vital information in seconds. We have handheld ultrasound machines, able to show internal injuries at the roadside. In the last few years, TVAA have extended the service by introducing 5 Critical Care Response Vehicles all carrying the same equipment as our helicopter.

With your help, we are proud to be an organisation that is committed to constant development and enhancement and above all else, we are committed to patient care."