My initial emotion was annoyance at the exact moment when a bunch of stripey shirted middle-aged men invaded my personal space.

I was sitting cross legged in a tent on the English / Welsh border, along with my daughter Charlotte, and I was tired.

We’d spent a couple of days listening to amazing poets, novelists, and writers of all sorts of variety and shades at the Hay Festival in Hay on Wye. That was amazing fun. The bit which made me a little antsy was the lack of sleep because of something I’d done.

You see, I made a pretty fundamental error of camping at the festival. I don’t know about you, but camping has a weird impact on me. I always assume it’s going to be fun but in reality I always get the worst nights sleep I ever have in a tent.

Do me a favour, if you do speak to me about this and I mention that camping might be fun, remind me of the advantages of a good night sleep and point me in the direction of the nearest premier inn.

However, despite my initial annoyance, I could sense some enthusiasm in the tent and certainly on the faces of the stripey shirted middle-aged men…and then it started.

In 2024. A bunch of men. Singing Sea Shanties.

It. Was. Brilliant!

The Hay Shantyman (you can find more about them here – https://www.hayshantymen.com/) sung their hearts out, thoroughly entertained me but most importantly looked like they were having an absolute blast!

I’ve been thinking a lot about how hobbies play a part in our wellbeing, and choirs of all shapes and sizes can contribute so much to our wellbeing in several different ways.

Firstly, it’s social. Making music has been a deeply human thing to do with the first musical instruments, a flute made of bones and mammoth ivory, being 40,000 years old.

We humans derive so much please in music, but making music is a communal endeavour and the feeling of getting together with people we love and like is definitely a positive contributor to our wellbeing.

Secondly, the Hay Shantymen are part of a number of communities, and therefore improving their community wellbeing, in a bunch of ways. We all like to be part of a tribe, or multiple tribes, so being part of the Hay Shantymen means that you’ve got the bound of common hobby and potentially geography!

Also, as the Hay Shantymen raise thousands of pounds for the Royal National Lifeboat Association, there’s also great purpose in what they do. Which is shown to clearly contribute positively to our lives.

So, whilst I may have been initially a little curmudgeonly about the Hay Shantymen I’m not a massive fan. Not only is listening and watching enhanced my mood, I’m sure it does a lot for the overall wellbeing of those involved too!

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the benefits of ‘wellbeing stacking’ and how we can find activities which add to a number of aspects of wellbeing in our lives.

Singing in public with people we like to raise money for great causes ticks a lot of wellbeing boxes, I certainly see why there are the proliferation and population of so many choirs. Singing is human. Being social is human. Doing good is human. Being in a tribe is human.

Now, singing might not be your bag….although if it is I’d suggest that a choir might be for you! However working out what you might want to try and seeing how many wellbeing boxes it might fill might be an interesting exercise.

What do you think?