Two men are sitting at the back of a choir rehearsal together waiting for practice to start, chatting as if they are old friends. After finding out they have both lived in the same part of Swansea and share a love of rugby, Howard Jones, 71, and Rob Coleman, 67, have plenty to talk about and you would never have guessed they only met each other moments earlier.
As the director of the choir begins to play the keys of his piano, the pair study their songbooks which are made up of everything from the hits of the Beatles, Tom Jones' Green, Green Grass of Home and more modern ballads like Keane's Somewhere Only We Know.
Howard and Rob are part of the Ageing Well Choir which was launched earlier this year for older people in Swansea to help combat loneliness and isolation and improve mental health and wellbeing. The group, which often attracts around 60 participants, usually practice on the main stage at Swansea's state-of-the-art arena, but this week they met at Swansea Grand Theatre to harmonise together. You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
