You might think that for an organisation called With Music in Mind, the government rule of no singing, no shouting, and no chanting, would grind them to a halt.

But instead, the service decided that while their usual community singing sessions were suspended, they would trial something new for the elderly.

Pilot exercise groups will begin tomorrow in Barry and Cowbridge: attendees will take part in a half an hour session of gentle exercise followed by refreshments and socialising.

Managing director Dr Sarah Miles said trialling the exercise groups was originally planned for the new year, but they decided to bring the scheme forward.

"So many of our members are at a point where they feel they need to get out and socialise and do something, even if it's not singing," said Dr Miles.

"We're going to pilot the exercise groups, get some feedback from people who attend and if it's successful, roll it out next year to other locations.

"That's how we normally do our singing and social groups: sing for an hour, break for refreshments and then something social.

"It's not a formal choir, but it's all about singing together and the benefits of that. Then we can expand the singing groups in different locations once we're allowed to sing again.

"It's difficult to know what to do, when you never know what announcement is going to come next, so we're just taking each week as it comes."

At Colcut Community Centre/Cowbridge Scout Hall, chairs will be set out in a circle around the room, with two metres between them. Everyone will enter one at a time, and wear a mask until they reach their seat. Then, the exercise class can begin.

"We have a few different types of exercise, one of our ex-directors is coming in to do some gentle strength and conditioning exercises, which will be this week," said Dr Miles.

"Another staff member is a qualified Tai Chi instructor so she'll be doing that one of the weeks.

"We've arranged for external instructors to come in to do different gentle exercises, to keep people moving and keep agile to build up strength.

"During lockdown, lots of people have been out walking but not necessarily going to their usual classes, so it's about building that strength back up."

But the benefits are not just physical: the classes are about socialising as safely as possible.

"It's just about getting people back together, seeing each other and talking. Socialising at a distance and keeping safe," said Dr Miles.

"The reason we set up singing groups in first place was to combat loneliness and social isolation and improve wellbeing.

"Some of our members are married and have family around, but there are others who live on their own.

"We've got a really good system of sending out newsletters weekly, either via email or post for those who aren't online. Every week we can inform people of what's happening. Everyone understands this is just how life is at the moment."

Dr Miles also said she hoped that by attending the exercise classes, people's confidence would improve.

Anyone interested in joining With Music in Mind can phone 07500 776295 or email [email protected], and will receive an information pack to understand what precautions the group will take.