To Absent Friends, Scotland's festival of storytelling and remembrance, drew to a close on 7 November, after an event-packed week that saw people across Scotland taking time out to remember and reflect upon loved ones who had died.
People from across Scotland took part in the festival, either by attending one of the many public events, holding their own private acts of remembrance, or contributing to memorial activities on the festival website and across social media.
The festival launched with a concert at the RSNO's new auditorium in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 29 October. Schoolchildren from five different schools worked closely with musicians from the orchestra over several months to compose music for the night. For inspiration, they met and chatted to residents of care homes. The resulting works were performed to a delighted audience, interspersed with video footage from the residents themselves. An anthology of poetry from the evening is available.
Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, theatre group Creative Electric took to the streets with theatre piece Dog Stone. The interactive storytelling adventure engages children with the idea that imagination can be a coping mechanism when someone is no longer with us. The city's burgeoning spoken word scene also joined in with the festival; Gone But Not Forgotten saw a dozen different performers take to the stage at the Blind Poet pub to tell stories of those they had lost. A gallery of photos from these and other events is also on the To Absent Friends site.
Many hospices were active in To Absent Friends. For example, Ardgowan Hospice in Greenock worked with secondary school pupils to make a communal wall of remembrance, while at St Columba's Hospice in Edinburgh, poet Elspeth Murray led a creative writing workshop with staff. The session, called Honouring memories, offered time and space for staff to reflect and share memories of the patients they have cared for. "It’s nice to have time and space to specifically reflect on those who we miss and love," said one of the residents at Accord Hospice after sharing songs and stories at their day therapy remembrance event.
Many Scottish care homes chose to host events to mark the occasion, both by inviting residents to share their stories and welcoming back relatives of late residents to talk and reminisce over a cup of tea. For instance, in Lanarkshire, Balmer Care Homes Rosepark and Rosehill held a week of remembrance from the 2 - 6 of November, culminating in a balloon release by relatives of former residents, as a memorial to the loved ones they had lost.
Meanwhile, in Livingston, the Peacock Nursing Home took a musical approach to remembrance with a gathering to remember ex-residents. Margaret Bradford, Activity Co-ordinator at Peacock Nursing Home reflected:
“Our event was a massive success. I think that initially people didn’t know what to expect, but the turnout was great, and we got amazing feedback from the relatives who came along.”
The Essence of A Memory photo competition invited people to capture a memory of a loved one in a photo and fifty words.
Eight winners were chosen by writer and former Edinburgh Makar, Ron Butlin, and photographer, Colin Gray. So far the exhibition has toured Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Govan Health Centre and St Andrew's Hospice, with more tour venues to be planned next year. If you would like to host the exhibition, please get in touch.
On Facebook and Twitter, people changed their profile picture to a loved one who had died, and shared stories of their lives. Many organisations did the same with their social media. Parkinsons UK changed their picture to their founder Mali Jenkins, for instance. Local history pages Lost Edinburgh and Lost Glasgow shared the festival with their tens of thousands of followers. Dinners have also been held to the memory of absent friends, including one at the Scottish Parliament.
These are just a few examples of the amazing variety of events that took place - check out the To Absent Friends Festival Listings, Festival Blog and Photo Gallery more information. If you took part in the festival and would like to share your experiences, please get in touch.
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