My grandfather Edwin had lost his lust for life. But a message from my late grandma started something incredible. By Liv Rolph, 24
Inching my way along the church pew, I sat down next to my grandma, Margaret, with my legs dangling off the edge.
As the music began, Grandma leant over and whispered, ‘Isn’t he amazing?’
She was talking about
my grandad, Edwin, who was singing in the choir.
He was indeed wonderful, and my twin sister Laura and I loved listening to him sing whenever he and Grandma babysat us.
We’d go to church, and
then afterwards we’d help Grandma bake a cake – even though I suspected we were more of a hindrance!
She never complained though. She was the gentlest person I’d ever met, and when she brushed our hair before bed, we never felt the slightest tug.
Then it would be time for Grandad to play the teleport game with us.
‘If you walk very quickly around the dining table,’ he’d say, ‘you’ll teleport upstairs!’
We’d race up the stairs and jump
into bed, and then Grandad would make up amazing stories about the trees and birds in the park.
As Laura and I got older, we loved to hear about how Grandma and Grandad met.
‘Well,’ Grandad would begin, ‘I was eight and Grandma was five and we met on holiday as our parents were friends…’
Laura and I would sit agog as he went on, ‘But it wasn’t until my brother
Eric got married and Grandma came to the wedding aged 15, that we got together.
‘Five years later we were married, and now we’ve been married for 60 years.’
Then we’d get him to tell
us about his singing.
He’d been a choirboy as a lad, and then sang in a band during his time in the RAF.
He hadn’t stopped since, singing in the choir at church in Bournemouth, Dorset, and acting in plays.
Grandma was always
his number-one supporter – helping out backstage with make-up, and sitting in the front row, proud as anything.
'We've been married 60 years'
I couldn’t imagine a more devoted couple.
But then tragedy struck.
Grandma was diagnosed with cancer and three years later, aged 80, she passed away.
We were all devastated, but it hit Grandad the hardest.
And he stopped singing.
It was heartbreaking because he’d loved it so much, but after almost a lifetime with Grandma, he didn’t know how to live without her.
Laura and I were desperate to help, but it wasn’t until
five years later that Grandad came to us and said, ‘I think Margaret wants me to sing again.’
He explained that he’d felt she’d spoken to him and told him to get on with his life and start singing again.
‘That’s amazing,’ we said.
We found a studio nearby and booked a session so he could record some songs.
Laura and I went along to listen.
As the music began, Grandad’s eyes lit up.
And when he started to sing, our skin prickled with goosebumps.
'I’d forgotten how incredible his voice is!’ Laura said.
Even though years had gone by, he’d lost none of his magic. Grandad’s voice had the power to lift the soul, and
I had an idea.
‘Everyone deserves to hear his voice,’ I said. ‘We should put it on TikTok!’
When we talked to Grandad about it, he said, ‘What’s TikTok?’
We explained, and as he’d recorded videos for YouTube and Facebook before, he agreed to let us post a clip
of him singing.
He chose Over the Rainbow and as he sang the words, his voice brought tears to my eyes.
Somewhere over the rainbow, Way up high, There's a land that I heard
of, Once in a lullaby.
And I wasn’t the only one who loved it.
The clip gained more than 5000 likes overnight, so we uploaded more and more videos, and watched as
his follower count kept climbing.
People left wonderful comments and Grandad replied
to all of them.
Before we knew it, he had almost 500,000 followers on TikTok and his videos had received almost 10 million likes.
His favourite songs to sing were the ones he’d sung with Grandma – music from the likes of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Matt Monro, as well as church music.
But he was open to trying out more modern stuff too.
‘How about this one, Grandad?’ Laura said, handing him the sheet music to Video Games by Lana
Del Rey.
‘I don’t know it from Adam,’ he chuckled, ‘but I’ll do as I’m told.’
He listened to the backing track over and over until he got it just right, and then we recorded him singing it.
Grandad, now 92, has been such a bit hit online that we’re now in talks with Disney about a big project, which is top secret for now.
We never thought in a million years that so many people would get to hear
our grandad sing, but now
he has become a bit of a
local celebrity.
The comments he gets
are so encouraging and motivational. People tell him how much his music has helped them or made their day a little brighter.
We all still miss Grandma every day but through Grandad’s singing, she lives on in our hearts.
● Watch Edwin on TikTok @grandad_sings and instagram @grandadsings_tiktok