On Friday morning, residents of The Elden sat down to a little music and history lesson, courtesy of Daniel Aonso of Circles Enrichment, a local company that provides cultural and educational presentations to seniors.
The theme for the presentation, Music Halls of WW1, was a way to acknowledge and reflect on the entertainment culture during the war.
Activities Coordinator Chad Axelrod said he thought the presentation would be a good match for the month of Remembrance Day.
Recruitment songs were popular at the time before the war, romantacizing the idea of it.
But after a few months into the war and after a rising number of deaths, entertainment culture made a shift toward more happy and uplfting material.
At the time, music halls were a popular place people would frequent as a way to escape and get "cheered up."
"It turns out people went to the music hall to let loose and have fun...they just wanted to forget their troubles and forget the big war that was happening," explained Aonso.
Throughout the presentation, Aonso played snippets of songs and videos of renditions on what a typical music hall performance was like.
One clip shown was from Doris Day's 1951 film "On Moonlight Bay" set in the WW1 timeframe, about a woman who falls in love with a soldier.
Aonso added, "If we want to experience music hall...we can turn to Beryl Reid."
He showed snippets of the award winning British actress performing her "Fallen and Follow Me" number, which Aonso said gave a closer picture of what a music hall sing-a-long performance would look like.
Another clip of Roy Castle in "The Good Old Days" variety show was played. The show aired from 1953-1983, recreating the Victorian music hall style performances from the war era.
At the end of the presentation, he described a bit about the "anti-war movement" in which music halls forbade any type of performance or act that put down war culture. Only songs and acts sarcastic in nature about war were allowed, such as the famous satirical song from 1917, "Oh It's a Lovely War."
Resident Annamarie Wagner said she loved the presenation saying it was "awesome." She said it made her feel good because she is a real music lover.
"I will definitely be bringing them (Circles Enrichment) back throughout the year for different topics," promised Axelrod afrer the presentation.
Some residents of The Elden will be taking a bus to the Bradford Remembrance Day Parade on Sunday, where they will be laying a wreath at The Legion.
