• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
East Anglia Bylines
  • HOME
  • News
    • All
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Health
    • Welfare
    • World
    Cycling.

    Thirty for 30 – how to reduce your carbon footprint

    Oven ready social care plan

    AgeUK and ‘People at the heart of care’

    The UK Youth Parliament

    Should sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds be given the vote?

    Shopping for bargains.

    Savvy tips for cutting your food bill

    Templefields House

    ‘Big Bits of Ash Falling from the Sky’: What happens when your home is on an industrial estate and a warehouse fire breaks out?

    Urkrainian refugees at Warsaw Station

    The Homes for Ukraine scheme: really not “world-beating”

    Pirogov-emergency-team

    Norfolk help for the casualties of war

    A group of international students

    After Brexit: another lost opportunity for young people

    Dentist at work

    Emergency! Dental treatment in lockdown

    • Brexit
    • Health
    • Education
    • World
  • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Local government
    • Justice
    • Activism
  • Climate
    • Environment
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Community
    • Culture
    • History
    • Humour
    Pylons at Aldringham, Suffolk

    Shock as National Grid proposes 180km of new pylons across East Anglia

    Houses of Parliament

    Democracy and lack of accountability

    Cambridge Europe Day Fete

    Europe Day fête in Cambridge on 14 May

    Three Steampunks

    Imagining other worlds: steampunk in East Anglia

    Smiling Baby

    Twenty years: a staggering difference in life chances

    Shopping for bargains.

    Savvy tips for cutting your food bill

    Templefields House

    ‘Big Bits of Ash Falling from the Sky’: What happens when your home is on an industrial estate and a warehouse fire breaks out?

    Urkrainian refugees at Warsaw Station

    The Homes for Ukraine scheme: really not “world-beating”

    River Deben, Woodbridge

    Rivers have rights: national day of protests against sewage dumping

    • Community
    • Culture
    • History
    • Humour
    • Property
  • Business
    • All
    • Economics
    • Finance
    • Transport
    Sugar beet

    As farmers suffer, is government’s sugar sell-out just to keep Tory donors sweet?

    Preston bus station

    Community wealth building

    Stansted Airport

    Are plans for Stansted Airport signs of a changing world?

    Snape

    The Ore and the Alde: smugglers, a merman and the home of seaside chic

    The Studio, Elstree

    Was dirty Russian money washed in a Herts public lavatory?

    Ukraine border boxes

    Freedom Boxes and Freedom Buses

    Sunak's wife claims to be non-domiciled

    Is the Chancellor’s wife really a non-dom?

    Rishi Sunak budget

    The economic and political consequences of Rishi Sunak’s failure

    Energy producer profits set to increase 40 fold due to energy price increases

    • Economics
    • Finance
    • Transport
    • Farming
  • ANGLIA
    • All
    • Anglia
    • Bedfordshire
    • Cambridgeshire
    • Essex
    • Hertfordshire
    • Norfolk
    • Suffolk
    Duncan Baker

    Council leader appeals to MP to clean up politics for good after claimed death threats

    Norfolk County Hall

    EXCLUSIVE: shocking coup by Norfolk’s Tories

    Pylons at Aldringham, Suffolk

    Shock as National Grid proposes 180km of new pylons across East Anglia

    Mr Pecksniff (Social Media)

    Pecksniff’s Diary

    Cambridge Europe Day Fete

    Europe Day fête in Cambridge on 14 May

    Three Steampunks

    Imagining other worlds: steampunk in East Anglia

    Local election results in the East: good news for progressives?

    Smiling Baby

    Twenty years: a staggering difference in life chances

    South Cambridgeshire: will the voters think local or national?

    • East Anglia
    • Bedfordshire
    • Cambridgeshire
    • Essex
    • Hertfordshire
    • Norfolk
    • Suffolk
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • News
    • All
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Health
    • Welfare
    • World
    Cycling.

    Thirty for 30 – how to reduce your carbon footprint

    Oven ready social care plan

    AgeUK and ‘People at the heart of care’

    The UK Youth Parliament

    Should sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds be given the vote?

    Shopping for bargains.

    Savvy tips for cutting your food bill

    Templefields House

    ‘Big Bits of Ash Falling from the Sky’: What happens when your home is on an industrial estate and a warehouse fire breaks out?

    Urkrainian refugees at Warsaw Station

    The Homes for Ukraine scheme: really not “world-beating”

    Pirogov-emergency-team

    Norfolk help for the casualties of war

    A group of international students

    After Brexit: another lost opportunity for young people

    Dentist at work

    Emergency! Dental treatment in lockdown

    • Brexit
    • Health
    • Education
    • World
  • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Local government
    • Justice
    • Activism
  • Climate
    • Environment
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Community
    • Culture
    • History
    • Humour
    Pylons at Aldringham, Suffolk

    Shock as National Grid proposes 180km of new pylons across East Anglia

    Houses of Parliament

    Democracy and lack of accountability

    Cambridge Europe Day Fete

    Europe Day fête in Cambridge on 14 May

    Three Steampunks

    Imagining other worlds: steampunk in East Anglia

    Smiling Baby

    Twenty years: a staggering difference in life chances

    Shopping for bargains.

    Savvy tips for cutting your food bill

    Templefields House

    ‘Big Bits of Ash Falling from the Sky’: What happens when your home is on an industrial estate and a warehouse fire breaks out?

    Urkrainian refugees at Warsaw Station

    The Homes for Ukraine scheme: really not “world-beating”

    River Deben, Woodbridge

    Rivers have rights: national day of protests against sewage dumping

    • Community
    • Culture
    • History
    • Humour
    • Property
  • Business
    • All
    • Economics
    • Finance
    • Transport
    Sugar beet

    As farmers suffer, is government’s sugar sell-out just to keep Tory donors sweet?

    Preston bus station

    Community wealth building

    Stansted Airport

    Are plans for Stansted Airport signs of a changing world?

    Snape

    The Ore and the Alde: smugglers, a merman and the home of seaside chic

    The Studio, Elstree

    Was dirty Russian money washed in a Herts public lavatory?

    Ukraine border boxes

    Freedom Boxes and Freedom Buses

    Sunak's wife claims to be non-domiciled

    Is the Chancellor’s wife really a non-dom?

    Rishi Sunak budget

    The economic and political consequences of Rishi Sunak’s failure

    Energy producer profits set to increase 40 fold due to energy price increases

    • Economics
    • Finance
    • Transport
    • Farming
  • ANGLIA
    • All
    • Anglia
    • Bedfordshire
    • Cambridgeshire
    • Essex
    • Hertfordshire
    • Norfolk
    • Suffolk
    Duncan Baker

    Council leader appeals to MP to clean up politics for good after claimed death threats

    Norfolk County Hall

    EXCLUSIVE: shocking coup by Norfolk’s Tories

    Pylons at Aldringham, Suffolk

    Shock as National Grid proposes 180km of new pylons across East Anglia

    Mr Pecksniff (Social Media)

    Pecksniff’s Diary

    Cambridge Europe Day Fete

    Europe Day fête in Cambridge on 14 May

    Three Steampunks

    Imagining other worlds: steampunk in East Anglia

    Local election results in the East: good news for progressives?

    Smiling Baby

    Twenty years: a staggering difference in life chances

    South Cambridgeshire: will the voters think local or national?

    • East Anglia
    • Bedfordshire
    • Cambridgeshire
    • Essex
    • Hertfordshire
    • Norfolk
    • Suffolk
No Result
View All Result
East Anglia Bylines
No Result
View All Result

Electric Umbrella charity ‘one thousand instruments challenge’

Electric Umbrella are asking for donations of a thousand unwanted musical instruments to help their work with the learning disabled.

Anna DamskibyAnna Damski
December 14, 2021
in Anglia, UK
Electric umbrella

Ricky: Electric Umbrella. Photo reproduced with permission.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A Watford-based charity that uses the power of live music to enhance the lives of people with learning disabilities launched a ‘1,000 Instruments Challenge’. They’re asking people across the country to donate their unwanted musical instruments to them. 

Electric Umbrella hopes to collect 1,000 instruments by Christmas. Since the launch of the campaign in early November, they have had 750 instruments donated. These will all be repaired, re-purposed or adapted by the charity, and will then either be used by members or sold to raise funds.

Twenty-two-year-old Tring resident Jonathan Watson is a long-term member of Electric Umbrella. He has poor mental health, a mild learning disability, extreme OCD and anxiety — but he also has incredible talent on stage.

  • Piano Busk: Electric Umbrella
  • Jonathan and Tom Billington: Electric Umbrella
Piano Busk: Electric Umbrella. Photo reproduced with permission. / Jonathan and Tom Billington: Electric Umbrella. Photo reproduced with permission.

Jonathan likes to rap

“The amazing thing about Electric Umbrella,” Jonathan says, “is that we play a lot of instruments and sing, and it doesn’t matter if you’re not the best singer or musician because you can just let it all out and be yourself.”

Electric Umbrella has helped to empower him to achieve the most extraordinary things, including rapping for an audience of hundreds of people.

Creating live music experiences for five years

The Hertfordshire based charity was set up five years ago by Mel Boda and Tom Billington. Their goal was to provide a platform for people with learning disabilities to enjoy live music. In doing so, they believe they challenge perceptions of mainstream audiences towards learning disabled people. The charity runs regular free music sessions online alongside their Big Yellow Choirs, as well as organising gigs, operatas, musicals and even festivals. They believe that “magic happens” when learning disabled people and pro-musicians work shoulder to shoulder.

During the pandemic, they launched online sessions to bring fun, interactive shows and singalongs, often with inspiring guests, to their hundreds of members, many of whom relied on these social and creative sessions to get them through this difficult time.

Donating unwanted musical instruments

Electric Umbrella Creative Director and co-founder Tom Billington is a singer, songwriter, and guitar player. His rich and varied career has seen him perform all over the world alongside well-known bands. He’s keen to hear from members of the public who may be able to help. “We’re asking people to donate their unused instruments so we can put them to good use and bring fun and joy to people’s lives.”

Billington believes that having a learning disability shouldn’t be what defines someone. “By empowering them to take centre stage and show off their amazing talents, we aim to encourage people to think differently about them.”

Donate to make a more inclusive world

The charity is happy to take instruments that may have seen better days. “We believe there’s still life in even the oldest dogs!” Billington explains. “By donating your unwanted and unloved musical instruments you can be part of a movement to change people’s perceptions and make the world a more inclusive place.” 

If you are interested in donating an instrument, please visit their website and register. They will then send you details of how to send it to them free via your local post office. If you don’t have an instrument but would like to support the charity, you can give them a donation.

You can ask for more information via their email instruments@electricumbrella.co.uk

Saving the Wick
Environment

Saving the Wick

December 2, 2021
Aldeburgh second homes
Anglia

Action at last on second homes?

November 20, 2021
Tags: CommunityEducation
Previous Post

The elephant in the briefing room

Next Post

East of England Tories turn on Johnson

Anna Damski

Anna Damski

Anna is Editor-in-chief of East Anglia Bylines. She is also Chair of Suffolk for Europe and a founding member of the Save British Farming campaign. Before retiring to Suffolk, Anna lived in London where she spent many years as a learning and development consultant.

Related Posts

Pylons at Aldringham, Suffolk
Anglia

Shock as National Grid proposes 180km of new pylons across East Anglia

byAnna Damski
May 15, 2022
Mr Pecksniff (Social Media)
Anglia

Pecksniff’s Diary

byEast Anglia Bylines
May 14, 2022
Lee Anderson MP
Activism

Jack Monroe threatens to sue MP

byStuart Burrell
May 14, 2022
Three Steampunks
Anglia

Imagining other worlds: steampunk in East Anglia

byStephen McNair
May 11, 2022
Oven ready social care plan
UK

AgeUK and ‘People at the heart of care’

byAidan Baker
May 9, 2022
Next Post
Tories turn on Johnson

East of England Tories turn on Johnson

Want to support us?

Can you help East Anglia Bylines to grow and become more sustainable with a regular donation, no matter how small?  

DONATE

Sign up to our newsletter

If you would like to receive the East Anglia Bylines regular newsletter, straight talking direct to your inbox, click the button below.

NEWSLETTER

LATEST

Duncan Baker

Council leader appeals to MP to clean up politics for good after claimed death threats

May 17, 2022
Norfolk County Hall

EXCLUSIVE: shocking coup by Norfolk’s Tories

May 17, 2022
Climate change is going global

Climate change now: acting for ourselves and our children

May 16, 2022
Pylons at Aldringham, Suffolk

Shock as National Grid proposes 180km of new pylons across East Anglia

May 15, 2022

MOST READ

Norfolk County Hall

EXCLUSIVE: shocking coup by Norfolk’s Tories

May 17, 2022
Pylons at Aldringham, Suffolk

Shock as National Grid proposes 180km of new pylons across East Anglia

May 15, 2022
Duncan Baker

Council leader appeals to MP to clean up politics for good after claimed death threats

May 17, 2022
Lee Anderson MP

Jack Monroe threatens to sue MP

May 14, 2022

Tags

Activism Brexit Business Cambridgeshire Climate Community Culture Democracy Development Devolution Economics Education Employment Environment Essex Farming Finance Health Humour Hymns International Women's Day Justice Letters Local elections 2022 Local government NHS Norfolk Opinion Pandemic Partygate Party politics Pecksniff Poetry Politics Poverty Property Rivers of East Anglia Science Sewage Sizewell Social care Suffolk Ukraine VAWG Welfare
East Anglia Bylines

East Anglia Bylines is a regional online newspaper that supports citizen journalism. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in East Anglia and beyond.

Learn more about us

No Result
View All Result
  • About us
    • Contact us
    • Bylines Network
    • Complaints
    • Newsletter
    • Privacy Policy
    • Donate
    • Pecksniff’s Diary
  • UK
  • Anglia
  • About us
  • UK
  • Anglia

© 2022 East Anglia Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • News
    • Brexit
    • Health
    • Education
    • World
  • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Local government
    • Justice
    • Activism
  • Climate
    • Environment
  • Lifestyle
    • Community
    • Culture
    • History
    • Humour
    • Property
  • Business
    • Economics
    • Finance
    • Transport
    • Farming
  • ANGLIA
    • East Anglia
    • Bedfordshire
    • Cambridgeshire
    • Essex
    • Hertfordshire
    • Norfolk
    • Suffolk

© 2022 East Anglia Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In