WELLBEING and happiness soared in All Saints Church, Grayswood, when acclaimed pianist John Tilbury got into the groove to support a four-day fundraiser in aid of the village school.

The special session on Thursday last week was the highlight of the Great Grayswood Health Challenge and the guest appearance was arranged by his daughter Rose Callaghan, fundraiser organiser and co-chairman of Friends of Grayswood School.

Mr Tilbury is renowned not only as an unequalled interpreter of contemporary composers but also for his work as a free improviser. He is best known for his many seminal recordings and performances of the work of Morton Feldman, John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Howard Skempton, and as an improviser for his work with The Scratch Orchestra with Cornelius Cardew and the legendary group AMM.

In his ‘Tea and Ivories’ set at All Saints, Mr Tilbury played an eclectic mix ranging from Schubert to Eric Satie and Skempton, plus his own arrangements of six songs by the Beatles, including Here Comes the Sun.

Rose said: “We all enjoyed a lovely relaxing cuppa with beautiful music at All Saints Church before picking the kids up from school.

“It was a great de-stress for parents and a very fitting event as part of our Great Grayswood Health Challenge to focus on connection, wellbeing and happiness.

“We have had a wonderful week of healthy snacks, natural beauty, sport and fitness, music and walks.”

Last week’s event was the third Great Grayswood Health Challenge mounted by school foundation governor Charlotte Brown.

The four days of feel-good activites organised by Rose and led by volunteer school parents, governors and teachers was designed to bring the school community together to focus on health and wellbeing while

raising money.

On Monday, it was all about “Skin Food”, with a session led by Rose on drinks and snacks to nourish and natural skincare samples to try out.

Wednesday saw both a Netball 4 Fun activity led by school sports champion Louise Taylor and also a ‘Spring into Song’ event.

Fresh from the school choir’s success at Young Voices at the O2, Year 4’s Chris Hackshall led a fun singing session for parents, with ‘mindful’ drinks on offer at the pop-up bar Club Soda in the school hall.

On Thursday, as well as ‘Tea and Ivories’, it was time for a ‘Spring Fit’ workout led by parent and fitness professional Hannah Sudlow of BE-U Fitness. Those taking part got into gear by doing exercises to tone the whole body using no equipment, so partipants could keep up the good work at any time.

The fundraiser concluded with a three-hour walk on Friday led by parent and school governor Fiona Tough. A private Facebook group ran throughout the week with tips on healthy living ideas and inspiration.