News

To Absent Friends Festival

Preparations are well underway for this year’s To Absent Friends, a people’s festival of storytelling and remembrance.

This is set to be the biggest year yet, and festival listings can be viewed on the To Absent Friends website. We’re adding to the list every day, so please get in touch if you would like to get involved. If you're looking for inspiration, some ideas are suggested here: Get Involved.

Food, storytelling and music in memory of absent friends

Join us for an evening of spoken word, storytelling and music in memory of absent friends, with entertainment from:

• Cat Loud, Cabaret Singer
• Donald Smith, Storyteller and Director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre
• Max Scratchmann, Spoken Word Artist

A simple three-course meal will be provided by the Cyrenians Community Cook club. Invite some people you'd like to spend the evening with, book a table, and raise a toast to Absent Friends. Tickets are £6. More information and booking is available here: To Absent Friends Supper

Do you work with people who enjoy sharing their memories of times gone by?

This October we are working with Scottish Care and the Luminate Festival of Creative Ageing on an initiative which aims to uncover lost tales of relationships in the 1940s and 50s. We want to find out about the adults that made the decade special - the parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, teachers, neighbours and friends that left a lasting impression on young people living in post-war Scotland.

Throughout October, we'll be inviting people to take part in a Scotland-wide reminiscence project called Absent Friends from the 40s & 50s. We'll be collecting stories and anecdotes and creating an online collage of remembrance which celebrates and commemorates some of the 'ordinary' people made these decades special. If you’re interested in taking part, please get in touch or check out the website for more information.

Storytelling Workshop

SPPC is pleased to be working with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival to put on a workshop exploring storytelling and remembrance. With contributions from Donald Smith, Director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, the workshop will provide an opportunity to explore Absent Friends Suppers as a means of reviving storytelling and remembrance in the Scottish tradition. Monday 30 October 2017, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh. £8