The Golden-Oldies Charity, more fondly known as ‘Goldies’, turns 10 years old this year.

On Thursday May 16 the charity will celebrate their birthday at Toothill Community Centre, Village Centre, Swindon SN5 8DH from 10.30am - 12.00pm.

The charity holds daytime Songs & Smiles sessions for older people, based around the popular, memory-evoking songs of the 50s and onwards.

The sessions are designed for those who may have become isolated and live alone, and have grown across Swindon in the past 10 years supported by Swindon Borough Council.

Alison Dawn, a well-known local singer leads many of the sessions, along with her very supportive helper, a Labradoodle called Noodle.

She said: “Our sessions give the folk something to look forward to, a week can be a very long time in a lonely life."

Daytime weekly sessions are held in sheltered housing community rooms as well as a monthly sing at Coleview Community Centre on the first Thursday of each month from 10.30am-11.30am.

A new monthly session is being introduce at the Toothill Community Centre on the third Thursday of each month from 10.30am-11.30am.

“Many things we take for granted as younger able people," said Mrs Dawn.

"If you imagine for a moment all the daily opportunities we have to socialise being gone, you will realise how extremely important our sessions are to our Swindon Goldies. My weekly sheltered accommodation sessions are in particular a lifeline to many of the attendees,” she said.

Grenville Jones, from Swindon, is the founder of the Goldies Charity which currently runs almost 200 Sing & Smile sessions across England and Wales, as well as an award-winning schools intergenerational program.

Mr Jones said: “Alison is one of our brilliant session leaders. The folk attending the session simply love to go along and they always make a fuss of Noodle.”