26/06/2020
It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Music Box will be closing it’s doors after almost 30 years 😢
The current situation with the pandemic means we are unable to reopen anytime soon and, even when the Government allows us to, we don’t see how we could operate whilst adhering to social distancing and limited numbers. Music Box just wouldn’t be Music Box without the box of instruments that the children freely dip into and explore, or without the dancing around the hall to ‘Fast and Slow’, holding hands to do the ‘Hokey Cokey’ or kissing the puppets goodbye at the end of the morning. Graham’s recent stroke has meant we have lost our live Music Man and we feel the time has come to sing ‘Time to go home’ one final time.
Aly and Kay have been privileged to bring music and movement to thousands of children and their adults every Monday morning for 3 decades, and we wish to extend our deepest thanks to all the families who have passed through our doors and supported Music Box over the years. It has been a delight to watch the way the children’s faces light up in response to the music, and it has been our greatest joy to see our Music Box babies grow and develop into music-loving children - some of whom returned years later, with children of their own! We have loved hearing how some of our songs, such as the pancake and firework songs, have become anthems in your homes every February and November, and we will always hold fond memories of our Music Box Christmas celebrations in our hearts. Especially Kay, who would happily sing Christmas songs all year round!
We owe some of you £6 for the sessions we had to cancel at the start of lockdown. Please contact us to arrangement a transfer of the refund. Alternatively, we would like to offer you the opportunity to donate the £6 to the NHS, who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic and have played a huge role in the recovery of our Music Man after his stroke. We will gladly accumulate the funds from the two cancelled sessions and donate them to this cause. However, if you would like a refund then please do contact us on here. We would like to extend our thanks to the Downs Leisure Centre for hosting us for most of our Music Box journey and for offering many of our little ones the opportunity to extend the fun of Monday mornings with a discounted entry to their soft play facility. Thank you.
We will leave the Music Box page open for the time being so that you can replay the videos we have uploaded over the past few weeks for your children to enjoy. We would like to close off with a ‘Choose your favourite song’ week on the page next week! If your little ones have got a request for a song they’d like us to play, then please comment below!
We do hope the legacy of Music Box will continue to live on in your hearts and homes, as it will in ours. Our closing requests is that you continue to fill your houses with songs, rhymes, music and movement. We strongly believe that a singing child is a happy one 😊 and the benefits of exposing our little ones to music from a young age are ample! Keep singing, keep smiling, stay safe and, once again, thank you all for being a part of our wonderful Music Box journey.
Lots of love, Aly and Kay 🎶🥁❤️ ###
