Leatherhead Parish Church with All Saints
September 2000
Doing the Lord's work
through song - Hedley Kay
When one of our parishioners
Hedley Kay gently played his guitar and sang to a little girl in
a hospital bed, staff observing the monitor were amazed to see
her heart beat returning towards normal. Hedley is one of 300
musicians who belong to the Council for Music in Hospitals. Last
year they gave over 4,000 concerts in hospitals, hospices,
nursing homes and children's wards.
He now spends about half his time in this most rewarding work, using his guitar to play instrumental pieces and to accompany a wide variety of songs for all ages. "A guitar is especially useful", he says, "you can get closer to people, it's portable, and versatile for accompanying songs or as an instrument in its own right. I can take music right to the bedside."
One of Hedley's most moving experiences came when he sang Bridge over troubled waters to a lady in the Princess Alice Hospice in Esher. She could not speak, but tapped out on her screen "I know I haven't long to live - would you sing that at my funeral." Three months later, Hedley did just that. "It was a great privilege", he says.
He has also played in Broadmoor Prison in Berkshire, where staff had been concerned about his usual practice of engaging his audience on a one-to-one basis. In the event he was warmly received by all. "My Christian faith has been paramount in giving me the confidence to bring my music into every situation - I hope this comes through in the way that I communicate with people".
lan Wallace is President Emeritus of the Council for Music in Hospitals. He attended one of Hedley's concerts at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, and described him thus:
"Hedley is possessed of a heart-warming smile and a relaxed charm of manner. He greeted each child, asked their name, told them a bit about each song and invited them to join in. Even two teenage boys, whose attention seemed to have wandered when they walked out, swiftly returned with cans of fizzy drinks. We sang through Puff, the Magic Dragon, Yellow Submarine, Old Macdonald had a Farm and many more modem songs the children knew but I didn't."
"His solos on the guitar, beautifully executed, were listened to with rapt attention. There were other diversions. Hedley had a second (I suspect less valuable) guitar which he encouraged the children to strum in rhythm and sang, and he produced and distributed a bag full of small percussive instruments - bells, drums and so on with either a handle or a wrist strap."
"About halfway through he introduced us to a little puppet monkey who climbed up a string. When he climbed up his face and hit him on the nose the laughter was deafening. When the monkey disappeared over his shoulder, we were all at the pantomime and shrieked "He's behind you" - all 20 of us, and some of us very ill indeed. Hedley had transported these children into a world far removed from the pain and anxiety of their daily lives. It was magical to watch."