By Sarah Curran
A BANGOR grandad has hit the right notes with his festive charity fundraiser, thanks to the help of his granddaughter.
Roy Uprichard enlisted the help of his award-winning Irish dancing granddaughter, Julia Cameron, recently to raise funds for Belfast’s Salvation Army.
The 70 year-old, who has been a member of various bands over the years and has written numerous songs, decided to write a Christmas song for the charity dubbed Frosted Window Panes.
On releasing the Christmas song on several streaming services, nine year-old Julia decided to bring the tune to her dance teacher, Lauren Smyth, from Abbey School of Irish Dance in Newtownards.
In just a matter of minutes and with the help of her dance teacher, Julia and her classmates not only had a minute long routine to the tune but had also filmed the song for all to enjoy on their Facebook. The dance video has racked up almost 2,000 views.
Roy is one part of band duo Across The Bridge, and with the help of bandmate Louis Edmondson and producer Phil D’Alton, he was able to get a song which was once just a thought, out into the world.
“I had the tune to the song from two years ago but I couldn’t find the words,” Roy explained.
“I knew it was a Christmas song and about two months ago the words just came in a stream of consciousness.”
He continued: “It was November and I think the technical term is, ‘we took the head staggers’ and said stuff it, lets try and get this out in early December as it is a Christmas song.
“It all came together in the space of seven to ten days that we could actually do this.”
Roy and his team decided that any money made from music downloads should be donated to the Belfast Salvation Army.
Having donated his time last Christmas Eve and Day to the charity, Roy was inspired by the work they do to help those in need.
“I helped out doing a lot of deliveries and ferrying back and forth and then I ended up playing Christmas songs for three hours that afternoon while everyone was eating and playing games,” he said, joking that his Christmas song repertoire had since increased.
“The amount of time the volunteers put in there and the amount of care they show to people with difficulties or are alone at Christmas was really heart-touching.”
Roy said he was overcome with pride when his granddaughter then took matters into her own hands, in bringing the song to her dance class.
“I had said to Julia’s mum, my daughter, it would be great if Lauren Smyth could work on a wee routine for 30 seconds or something to see what the song would feel like,” he continued.
“Unbeknownst to me, Lauren did just that, with a few hours’ notice and 20 minutes at the end of a set class they came up with a little routine which lasted a little over a minute.”
He added: “The song vibe and the Irish dance vibe seem to give the song a sort of a happy feeling.”
Asked if he was proud of his granddaughter getting involved in his charity endeavour, Roy simply said: “She has made an old man very happy.”
Roy plans to return to Belfast’s Salvation Army again for Christmas Day this year, to once again help out and play some festive tunes for all to enjoy.
To watch the dance video by Abbey School of Dance, visit: https://www.facebook.com/abbeyschoolofirishdance.
The track and original video that goes with the song can be viewed on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-391_9L6dOU
