A MELODIC North Berwick street has begun a weekly singalong – with added musical instruments.

And the tuneful neighbours say the connections they have made during lockdown have been “a revelation”.

Residents on Balfour Street and neighbouring Quadrant Lane were joining the nationwide Clap for Carers each Thursday evening and decided to take things up a notch.

Carol Stobie, a Balfour Street resident of 17 years, suggested the singalong via a WhatsApp online group set up to connect residents during lockdown. Fellow resident Bill Nisbet, who currently pastors the North Berwick Christian Fellowship, brings his guitar to the street, where Carol joins him playing ukulele.

She said the links forged during lockdown have been “a revelation”.

“This area has a lot of holiday flats but there are also quite a few permanent residents,” said Carol.

“Since Natalie Pereira, our street link volunteer for the North Berwick Resilience Group, set up the Whats-App group, we’ve seen so many new connections forming between people who didn’t know each other’s names.

“Now there’s always someone offering to drop things off for those shielding, popping to the supermarket, High Street or Post Office.

“I hope we can build on these connections after lockdown.”

Carol is the project officer with Community Connections, which tackles social isolation in the North Berwick area.

She said: “Our members are among the most vulnerable folk, many of them shielding. They still show resilience, patience and great kindness to one another.

“This singalong is a symbol of community connection – it’s just one of many things going on across an amazing community, and I think it reveals what life needs to be like for us all in the future.”