“A Nice Thick Brown Cup of Tea” - Laurence’s Volunteer Story

This Volunteer's Week we are celebrating volunteers who through flexible or consistent, small commitment or regular contribution are all making a positive impact on their community.

Today we meet Laurence.

A couple of years ago, at the age of 77, Laurence Cowley made what he thought was a final decision.

He packed away his part-time rock ‘n’ roll band, Rocking Horse, sold most of his heavy sound systems and decided that the late nights and long recoveries were becoming just a bit too tedious.

“My music days were over,” he says.

Music, however, had other ideas.

At home in Great Offley, just outside Stopsley in Luton, Laurence still picked up one of his four remaining guitars almost every day. He would sing a few songs to himself - favourites included those from the 50s, 60s and 70s - the soundtrack of his generation, but something was missing.

“I felt the need for an audience.”

For Laurence, it had never been about the money, the joy came from playing to people... seeing their faces light up, hearing them sing along. So he made a decision: if he was going to play again, but this time, it would be entirely free for communities and charities.

And he hasn’t deviated from that promise almost 3 years on.

His first gig was at Stopsley Community Centre, where he walked in with his card and simply asked if they’d like him to come along and sing a few songs for their mostly disabled day visitors. After that first performance, he was invited to play at seven more centres around Luton.

The audiences were wonderfully diverse, young and old, from different backgrounds and cultures but the response was always the same. They sang, they smiled, they danced.

And they asked him back.

Wanting to perform closer to home in Hitchin and Letchworth, Laurence joined local Hertfordshire volunteer groups.

Gradually, organisers began finding him through volunteer listings and recommending him to others.

This year, Laurence turns 80.

Many organisers have told him they’ve never seen so many people living with memory challenges sing along word for word. In several venues, people rise from their chairs to dance.

“It’s a joy to see.”

Laurence makes each visit more than just a singalong. He shares snippets of history about the songs, stories of where he has played them before, and personal connections to the music. It becomes part performance, part reminiscence, part shared experience.

He has also performed at Lister Hospital, moving through recovery wards and singing half a dozen songs in each. Nurses join in. Patients join in. On occasion, people even get out of bed to dance.

“Yes, it’s bizarre what music can do,” he says.

Not every performance is pitch-perfect. On one occasion, his audience once disappeared halfway through a set when the community bus arrived and whisked everyone away. At another lunchtime event, he found himself finishing his set alone on stage after the final plates had been cleared.

But none of that dampens his enthusiasm.

For him, it’s about far more than music.

“It’s great for my mental and physical dexterity,” he says. “It gives you a mission in life.”

His regular organisers know his fee: a nice thick brown cup of tea - no sugar - and perhaps the occasional biscuit.

Volunteering, Laurence believes, gives you all of that and more.

And at nearly 80 years old, with guitar in hand and an audience ready to sing, his music days are very far from over.

If you'd like Laurence to play at one of your events, centres or hubs, you can contact him at [email protected]

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