Festival Events 2021
Music and Memories Podcast
Available at: www.toabsentfriends.community from 1 November.
“Music links us humans, heart to heart...Across time and space, and life and death.”
Nancy Werlin
Music and Memories is planned as a locally produced podcast. People in the Stonehaven area have been invited to dedicate a piece of music and a tribute to someone significant in their lives who has died.
Music has the power to conjour up memories, to reflect our sorrow and our joy. It is the language of emotion and transcends age, culture and background. When words fail us, music can be a way to articulate what we are feeling.
The pandemic has robbed many people of the opportunity to grieve fully and seek the company and comfort of others. Others may still hold precious memories of people special to them who died some time ago. This podcast will give people in our community a platform to share their memories of those they still love and miss through words and song.
Local Celebrant Fiona Beeley and community- based Feck Radio Productions have created a dedicated website www.toabsentfriends.community and email to allow people to log their requests. The final podcast will be hosted on the Feck Radio site, accessed directly through a link on the website. By making this a podcast it can be available to the community beyond the week of the 1st-7th November, to listen to at a time of their choosing.
Shoulder Tears
Organised by Zindoga
As part of the To Absent Friends festival, Zindoga will host a comedy, storytelling and BBQ session in the form of group 'come dine with me'.
The event aims to help bring healing to bereaved young people and their families in our African-BME communities. A carnival environment will be recreated, sharing food from different parts of the world. The project aims to help individuals and communities to support those who are experiencing difficult times associated with death, dying and bereavement.
This Meal Reminds Me Exhibition and Dinner Event
Organised by Alex Mascolo. Dinner Event and Exhibition 3rd November: 7pm-9.30pm; Exhibition 4th November 10am-5pm. Main Hall at Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Dalmeny Street. Ticket price: £12
Food customs that acknowledge the livings’ relationship with the dead are practiced all over the world, both publicly in ceremonies, and privately at home in the kitchen. Food can provide the opportunity to explore elements of grief through the communal practice of sharing meals.
“This Meal Reminds Me Of…” exhibition and dinner is a result of Alex Mascolo’s ongoing PhD research into the ways that food is used to connect and commemorate the dead within Britain. In collaboration with Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Alex intends to create a safe, but experimental space for the bereft. The chip shop inspired two-course meal provided will aim to facilitate the sharing of memories of loved ones that have died between attendees. Vegetarian friendly options will also be available.
The accompanying exhibition a will include projections, photographs and example interview transcripts exploring the relationship between grief and food.
Additionally, following the event, all interested will be welcome to book a session with Alex to tell her about a meal that reminds them of a loved one. These interviews are open to all, including those who are unable to make the dinner event. It is worth noting that these one-on-one informal discussions may be used for future research. Please email alex.mascolo@gmail.com or sign up in person at the dinner to secure your time - Alex will be holding the meetings between 10am and 5pm on the 4th of November at Out of the Blue Drill Hall. Feel free to also email with any questions or submit a meal online here: https://www.alexmascolo.com/submit-your-meal
A portion of the ticket price will be donated to the Refugee Community Kitchen, an organisation which helps to provide food for refugees - and those in need - within both Edinburgh and Calais.
More information
Out of the Blue: https://www.outoftheblue.org.uk/thismealremindsme/
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/this-meal-reminds-me-exhibition-and-dinner-event-tickets-193042032917
Facebook: https://fb.me/e/3UAQkw0SI
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/this_meal_reminds_me/
Website: https://www.alexmascolo.com/submit-your-meal
Contact: alex.mascolo@gmail.com
Memories of Loved Ones and Friends
Organised by Space & Broomhouse Hub
The Beacon Club closed its doors in March 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Members did not get to see some of their good friends again. They said “see you next week” one week and one year and 8 months later our services are back but we have lost many of our friends, with no chance of being able to say goodbye and grieve for them. The staff and our new members have also lost friends and family over the pandemic and we would like this over the week’s activities to celebrate the life’s people we have lost.
For the To Absent Friends Festival, we will focus on our memorial tree. We will invite family members, past and present along with staff to complete a remembrance card and hang it on the tree and include a picture on our wall of remembrace and encourage people to tell us about the person they have lost whilst being in a safe environment with a hot drink and a biscuit.
We are working with St David’s church to provide a memorial garden for the local community and as part of this the Beacon Club are going to have a section of the garden for our members past and present and staff to plant flowers small trees and plaque’s in memory of their loved one.
Remembering our absent friends
Organised by NHS Lothian, 1-7 November.
The first week of November will see five community hospitals across NHS Lothian providing opportunities for patients, their visitors and staff to reflect and remember people who have died.
Each hospital will provide a station with memory books for people to write in, and tags that can be personalised and hung on memory trees.
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