To think the military wives choir is a bit rubbish?

[yummymummy1920]

Now please don't think that I'm against what they do and the reasons they do it.
I think they are supporting a VERY worthy cause and I donate to help for Heros every month BUT the choir is just a bit rubbish.. They don't sound particularly harmonious like a good choir should and a few of the solos i have listened to have just been awful.
Is it wrong of me to think that they should just raise awareness in other ways rather than people buying CD's that they aren't actually going to listen to?

Jiggly you're so lucky!!
In a way, I don't mind pad life (can't really complain at the rent can you?!), but I really really want to buy somewhere....mainly because I don't know how much longer I can handle staring at magnolia walls, beige carpet and cleaning the place from elbow to arse crack every two years when we inevitably move again But DH's job means that postings are always on the cards!! Which again, is kind of nice, but I'll probably change my mind d about that when DCs start school!

Have you looked at The Forces Help to Buy scheme? If your posted 50miles away from you purchased house you would still get married quarters too. That's what we have done, used the scheme to get our deposit.

Our mortgage is only £100 more than SFA also.

Jiggly we did look into it a while ago, but it's not the right time for us to buy - even with the help to buy scheme.
We'll hopefully stick it out as long as possible in SFA and just save save save!

Haha I have gone off Gareth a bit too. He had a v. weird looking pointy beard for a while.

I totally love the idea of people, whoever they are getting together and singing, esp women as a solely female voice choir can sound lovely. And its awesome that so many community choirs have sprung up. But I agree it is sad when older, better, amateur choirs get forgotten about. (Speaking selfishly as a member of an older, audition-based choir.)

mybread we've totally derailed the thread 😂

Yeah save save save is the better long term solution if I'm honest, we just really wanted to get a house and get our own space. I think the OH could tell I just hated it in SFA. I never felt comfortable. Some live it though, they love the drama, gossip, clubs. Just not for me.

Indeed we have Jiggly oops.
You're right though, some people thrive off the drama and others seem to be involved in every club imaginable - including the MWC! I'm kind of in the middle - I have my friends in the choir, and I have some very good friends whose DH's work closely with mine who are absolutely mortified at the idea of joining the choir!
I think the transition to life as a military wife was easier for me than it is for a lot of people because I was just moving from living life as a serving soldier to being married to one - so the change wasn't actually that big! And I'm lucky to have a different perspective on things than some of the others do. Like if a group of wives are having a whinge about something their DH's are having to do for work, and I can see the logic in it from a "work" perspective I get lots of looks, as if I should be whinging about it as well

Mybreadiseggy. I am a member of the largest MWC and we are on our 5th year nearly, all ladies get treated the same and overall it's a nice atmosphere. Obviously with nearly 100 ladies you will get groups of friendships form but we all mix and all ranks and ages. We go from 20 to 65 and widow to live in partners. We would welcome you with wide arms and suggest you make your own opinions about clickiness when you arrive, don't let others bad mouthing put you off. It has been amazing support for me and I'm not shy anymore! 🤗

Reanster why are 65 year olds part of the military wives choir? I thought the concept was to support the spouses of current serving personnel, who face the challenges of operational deployments and family disruption in day-to-day service life.

That was a genuine question btw not being goady.

If the answer is its membership is wide enough to support widows from past operational campaigns into their 60s, then why is it excluding the husbands of current serving personnel?

Seems selective in its agenda and cliquey to me.

I actually don't know why people still fundraise for Help for Heroes. They been criticised many times for sitting on a vast chest of money and not distributing it to wounded veterans.

www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/08/help-a16.html?view=article_mobile

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3254247/45million-s-Help-Heroes-sitting-reserve-questions-asked-hospital-beds.html

Our widows became so during fairly recent campaigns. Our older members have been military wives for decades and now military mothers who offer the most valuable support and advice to our members facing new or difficult challenges.
As for the gender question that is not for me to answer .... However, from a personal view, clue is in the name! And there is nothing wrong with men folk starting their own choir for support is there?
I'm not sure why I and other members are answering or justifying ourselves on this not very kind thread tbh, I know what it's done for me as do the other members know what it's done for them. Don't like us turn off, got problems with us contact the governing body.

Bambam to be a part of a MWC you have to meet one of the following criteria:

• be a wife, girlfriend, co-habiting partner or immediate family member of serving personnel (usually mothers or daughters)
• be a retired military veteran yourself
• work for military support services dealing directly with military families

I think you can also join if you're married to a veteran.

It's just called a military wives choir because majority of us are wives. We have two ladies in my choir who are in their 50's and 60's - they are mothers of serving personnel.

clue is in the name

Right so it's okay to discriminate as long as you put it in the title

What grips me is going to mess functions, paying £30-40 to attend, being sung at and then told what a great organisation MW is because it supports families. All the while you are standing there with your husband knowing there's active discrimination against your own family on camp and a complete lack of support whilst you are deployed.

You should defend it if you are an active member supporting it. Your answer is its it's okay for us to discriminate because that's who we are and the answer is to go and start your own club. Great community cohesion there

My Mum was a military wife in her 50s; had my dh taken an extension, I would have been a a military wife in my 50s too.

I think it helps with isolation probably depending where you are. There is one here in Brussels that seems quite popular, but I think they allow non UK military wives in too, but there is no married patch here, so it's a way of meeting people.

My friend runs the MWC here, she used to run the one in her last camp. She has a full time job, a couple of kids and a husband who does go away very, very often. She dedicates almost all of her free time to the choir, she's always sorting out songs and music and events and fundraising. I think that's the side that most people don't see.

We go to mess functions and very often the choir doesn't sing. It wouldn't bother me if they did it, tbh. As for women being cliquey and wearing their husband's rank, that's been going on since time began, it's nothing to do with the MWC.

I honestly don't care if people think they can sing or not. Being a military wife can be a very isolated, lonely experience. Moving every few years is hard and it can be difficult to make friends. It doesn't matter if the personnel are going to war or not, they're still going away, so having something where women feels they can go, make friends and have some support is a good thing imo. I wish I could go, but I'm not well enough.

What a nasty post.

Wonder whether those of you bad mouthing the soloist would have the guts to do a solo yourselves.

Wonder whether those of you bad mouthing the soloist would have the guts to do a solo yourselves.

Completely irrelevant. The qualification for doing a solo is ability to sing, not guts.

And by the way, while you were sat on your backside watching flog it abusing people online some of us were working, or taking care of our children....OR keeping our horrible opinions to ourselves.

jennpenn, have you read the thread? No-one is in any way objecting to or denying the MWC's function in giving support. What they (including current military wives) are objecting to is having choirs which are not very good singing at them whether they like it or not. You seem to want a society in which the expression of opinions is forbidden. Isn't that what your husband is fighting against?

And you might like to have a look at the MN posting rules.

jennpenn, I think you've missed the point. I'm a huge fan of community choirs in general - I think the opportunity for people, many of whom have never sung before, to get together and enjoy singing is fantastic. Where, like the MWC they provide support and a welcome break for people who lead difficult lives (and military wives aren't the only people in this category), then they're doing great work, and I have nothing but admiration for the people who keep them going, as musical directors, working behind the scenes, committee members etc.

But that doesn't mean I want to buy and listen to their CDs. If I want to listen to choral music, I'd rather listen to choirs that are musically excellent, rather than community choirs doing a wonderful thing for their members but if I don't know anyone singing with them then I'm not that interested.

If members of MWC up and down the country are really discussing this thread and feeling insulted, there really is no need, any more than any member of any community choir who loves to sing need feel insulted.

Ridiculous over reaction and nasty personal attack from jennpenn there.

Community choirs are terrific, I'm in one myself. The difference is we don't go on national television and radio, release and record albums or have any media presence. We're not good enough, and crucially neither are the MWC which is the whole point of the thread which you woefully missed.

It's a rewarding hobby and it's great that they support one another, but this very average choir doesn't belong on tv or in the charts.

^This.

DH is a fair singer. He understands music reasonably well and sings in tune. He is a bass and has a nice tone.

I would not buy a CD of him singing.

His community choir gives support to elderly people in our area (the oldest singer is 86 and it is his social lifeline!). It is great and I pay £6 for a ticket to go to all their concerts - they charge to cover the costs of the hall where they perform.

I'd be pretty appalled if his choir featured on tv tbh.

Aren't you abusing people online too JennPenn?

Your post was a complete overreaction and hypocritical and embarrassing to boot.