Organisations across Edinburgh will be coming together next week to remember loved ones who have died, as part of To Absent Friends, a Scotland-wide festival of storytelling and remembrance.
Events in store in Edinburgh this year include concerts by the Edinburgh Brass Band, Edinburgh Singers, and Vox Coelestis, an organ recital by city organist John Kitchen, a poetry evening hosted by Poetry Circus, and a remembrance café held at the Scottish Poetry Library.
Many community organisations are hosting their own private acts of remembrance for To Absent Friends.
Among them are North Edinburgh Arts who will be holding a whole week of activity, including lantern making sessions, a social supper, and an exhibition called Inheritance Tracks, based on people’s musical memories of those who have died.
Elsewhere in the city, the Broomhouse Centre will be remembering their 2absent friends by creating a “tree of remembrance” in their café, and the Centre’s dementia day care service, The Beacon Club, will be sharing tales of their absent friends with a storyteller and musical session.
Hibernian will be remembering Absent Friends at the St Johnstone match at Easter Road on Saturday 3 November fans where they will be invited to leave personal tributes on the club’s To Absent Friends wall.
The whole festival kicks off on Thursday 1 November at 3pm with a launch event at the Living Memory Association’s Reminiscence Room in Ocean Terminal, a treasure trove of photos and memorabilia from bygone days, collected to keep memories and stories alive.
To Absent Friends festival was started in 2014 to give people an opportunity to celebrate the lives and memories of people who have died, through stories, celebrations and acts of reminiscence. It runs across Scotland from 1 – 7 November.
“Most people have lost someone dear to them,” says Robert Peacock of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief, the alliance of organisations behind the festival. But they live on in our stories and memories. To Absent Friends recognises that.
“We want people to stop and take some time to share those stories – whether it’s just raising a glass, getting the old photo albums out, or something more formal. We’re very glad that so many different organisations have chosen to mark the event.”
One of the people organising an event for To Absent Friends is Lara Celini, who is holding a community ceilidh and reminiscence café in Willowbrae.
She has her own personal story to tell:“My best friend died ten years ago. We’d just spent a wonderful new year together in rural Perthshire. She had so much to look forward to, and we had so many plans, and then she went for a walk and never came back.
“Bad luck and bad weather resulted in her getting lost in snowy woodland in falling light and she died of hypothermia. It was a stark reminder that death is not always expected, and when it happens we are forced to deal with it.
“We can make it a little bit more bearable by talking about it and supporting each other, because the people we love remain part of our lives, their stories are our stories, and they live on in our memories and in all the experiences we’ve shared.”
She hopes the ceilidh and reminiscence cafe will appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds.
“There will be quiet space to reflect and chat over tea and cake, but also space to dance and enjoy some ceilidh music, so hopefully something for everyone. The idea is to bring people together, to open-up conversations, and to make it easier for people to talk about death and the people in their lives who have died.”
There is still time for people to get involved with the festival themselves.
“It doesn’t have to be a big thing,” Robert continued. “The festival exists to allow people to remember their loved ones in whatever way they feel able – with a large public celebration or a small personal remembrance. We’re also asking people to change their social media profile pictures to someone they loved who has died, and telling their stories that way.”
People can also share their tributes on the online Wall of Remembrance, and their songs on the Remembrance Playlist, both of which can be found on the To Absent Friends website, www.toabsentfriends.org.uk.
To Absent Friends will take place across Scotland from 1 – 7 November 2018.
For more information, contact Robert Peacock on robert.peacock@palliativecarescotland.org.uk or 0131 272 2735 or see the website www.toabsentfriends.org.uk
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