Festival 2023
The To Absent Friends festival took place across Scotland from 1-7 November 2023.
It was an opportunity to remember, to tell stories, to celebrate and to reminisce about people who have died but remain important to us.
Information about some of the events that took place is below.
Samhain Dead Good Beach Walk, Storytelling and Sea Dip
Organised by Andrea Taylor, celebrant
Friday 3rd November 3.30pm -5pm (sunset 4.30pm)
Portobello Beach, Edinburgh
This event is open to the public
Bring your Absent Friend and join myself, Andrea Taylor, a Volunteer Daisy with Scottish Charity Pushing Up The Daisies and Life Celebrant, along with my Absent Friend, for a Samhain Dead Good Beach Walk.
After our walk there will be time to sit fireside, introduce our absent friend, share their favourite food and our favourite stories while pondering things death, dying and living well before taking a moment to reset with a dip in the Firth of Forth.
We will return to the fire as the sunsets to hear Professional Storyteller, Sarah Wedderburn-Ogilvy share tales of the season and stories for the soul.
We're looking forward to meeting you and your absent friend.
Please bring some of their favourite food with enough for everyone and them of course
Dress for the weather, bring a mat, towel or folding chair for getting comfy fireside, maybe a log for the fire and of course, anything you might need for a cold water dip (please remember sea dip is optional)
Spaces are limited so please contact me, Andrea, at soulfulcelebrant@aol.com for further information and to book. No drop-in available for this event.
Instagram: @soulful.celebrant
Photo credit: Andrea Taylor
Café Conversations – Remembering Absent Friends
Organised by Eddleston Cafe Conversations
1-10 November 2023
Eddleston
Eddleston Cafe Conversations was set up as a resource for the community. It aims to provide a non-judgmental space for people to ask and discuss the big questions about living, dying and grieving. It is built on the understanding that we are a community with different experiences and expertise, and that through sharing we can help support each other through challenging times.
There will be a series of three community ‘get-togethers’ to mark the To Absent Friends festival. One will take the form of a candle-lit remembrance gathering which will take place in our local Church and will be a led activity including specially selected pieces of music and storytelling passages. The other two events will take place in Eddleston Village Hall over two lunchtimes and will involve small groups (including a volunteer to help get the ball rolling) sharing stories and memories of friends and family who are no longer with us whilst enjoying light refreshments.
A floral tribute in memory of absent friends will be stationed in the village, creating an important space for private reflection and contemplation.
Photo credit: Jo Oliver
Grief tending event – a deep sharing circle online
Organised by Grief Tending Scotland
Wednesday 1st November 7 to 9.30 PM
Online via Zoom
This event is open to the public
Grief Tending in the community is a free online event as part of the Absent friends festival. Whatever your culture or tradition, Douglas and Maeve invite you to join us for a evening of grief-tending in Community, a space of remembrance and sharing of grief.
We’ll give our presence and attention to any and all layers of grief that arise in the day. To help us frame our scope, we’ll use the ‘Five Gates of Grief’ that Francis Weller describes in his book ‘The Wild Edge of Sorrow’. You don’t need to have read the book to take part.
Facilitators
Douglas Guest has over 30 years’ experience of working in the public and 3rd sector, and has been running men’s groups and grief tending in community events for several years. He has led on seminars and conferences in an number of fields, written national training programmes, and co-created Year of the Dad for Scottish Government.
Maeve Butler works in psychotherapies and third level education. She has been connected with the Salisbury Centre since 2012, and has been engaged with various forms of grief work since 2019, including Grief Tending in Community.
Robin Botley is an experienced facilitator and Elder with the Mankind Project community in Ireland. He currently supports a small team hosting small groups at the Song House retreat centre in Falcarragh, Donegal. My soul seeks every opportunity to share and be with Grief circles.
For more information and/or to book your place, email douglas_guest@yahoo.co.uk
To book directly: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZPwQ5Ni_9-W_VzpJfnFCqg9jg6vcgQXxhZxwSvlIlgM/edit?usp=sharing
Photo credit: Grief Tending Scotland
Absent Friends Supper
Organised by No-One Dies Alone Ayrshire
November 1, 2023
Troon
NODA Ayrshire are organising an absent friends supper for members of their bereavement support groups. They will meet in Troon on 1 November. The event will be a storytelling event where participants are invited to share a story of their loved one in celebration of the life they led.
Image credit: No-One Dies Alone Ayrshire
Gone but Not Forgotten
Organised by North Argyll Carers Centre
November 2023
Beaches in Tiree, Mull, and North Argyll
This event is for carers supported by the North Argyll Carers Centre.
Building on the success of the previous two years, North Argyll Carers Centre has organized this moving outdoor event with the help of funding from Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief. The event provides an opportunity for carers throughout the remote and isolated areas where we offer support to come together and remember the loved ones we have lost.
Bereaved carers from Argyll and the Isles will meet on a local beach, where they will write the names of the loved ones they have lost in the sand. We will watch together as the sea washes the names away with the incoming tide.
For our 2023 event bereaved carers from Tiree, Mull & North Argyll can take part in the event at a designated local beach, accompanied by support staff from North Argyll Carers Centre.
Photos will record the event for posterity.
For more information and to join us at one of our locations please email Mairi: mairi@northargyycarers.org.uk
Photo credit: North Argyll Carers Centre
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