People of Helping Hand: Reg

Meet Reg, who lives at our North Adelaide Residential Care Home

Reg enjoys writing poetry, reading about politics and surfing the net on his computer. He has a carpentry workshop onsite where he is currently making a number of planter boxes for use at North Adelaide. He can also be the life of the party. He has a love of music and singing and enjoys laughter and a good joke.

‘The truth is I’m terrible a show-off and love being the centre of attention! It helps to have a big booming voice (my late wife was always telling me to “shush” at parties). I’d have loved to have been an Elvis Presley type of performer and I have been known to burst into song after a couple of drinks’, says Reg.

However, Reg did not follow in the steps of his musical icons. Instead, he became a highly regarded oil and gas engineer, working for both Australian and international companies. He presented papers to audiences of up to 2,000 people and was a Planning and Operations Manager for significant exploration and production programs around Australia.

These days, life may be a little less hectic, but Reg still enjoys taking centre stage and sharing his passion for popular music. He has thousands of songs on his playlist and presents a weekly music segment at North Adelaide called Relax with Reg, featuring his favourite songs. Legendary performers like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Louis Armstrong are still amongst his favourites.

‘I don’t think of music as “important” and I’m no expert. I just know what I like. I put together the program of songs I want to play beforehand and during the sessions I’ll look around trying to gauge people’s reactions. I try to be aware of how people are responding and what the mood calls for’, says Reg.

Relax with Reg is proving to be an extremely popular and well attended event with residents and staff.

Without fail, every session starts with We Will Rock You by Queen. ‘That gets everyone clapping their hands, then I bring in some rock n’ roll and follow up with some ballads.’

If the audience starts to flag, Reg will add commentary and encourage everyone to get into the music by clapping and toe tapping. It’s absolutely magical to watch.

‘I like music with lyrics that tell a story and that you can understand. Mick Jagger was the death of songs with lyrics because you couldn’t understand what he was saying!”

Thank you, Reg for keeping the party going with flair and style!

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