Festival 2024
The To Absent Friends festival took place across Scotland from 1-7 November 2024.
It was an opportunity to remember, to tell stories, to celebrate and to reminisce about people we love who have died. To Absent Friends, a People’s Festival of Storytelling and Remembrance is an opportunity to revive lost traditions and create new ones.
Below is a list of the events that took place.
Vitality of Remembrance Workshop
Organised by North Berwick Coastal Community Connections
7 November, 7:00pm-8:30pm
Online
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
Join psychotherapist John MacFadyen as he explores the importance of “Embracing the Vitality of Remembrance”.
Forever in Our Hearts
Organised by Milan Senior Welfare Organisation
Wednesday 6th November 2024
Hibs Supporter Association, 11 Sunnyside, Edinburgh.
This event is for the Milan SWO community.
This will be a remembrance event for all our service users we have sadly lost over the years.
Death Cafe @ St Vincent’s Hospice
Organised by St Vincent’s Hospice
6th November, 3pm - 4pm
The Hub @ St Vincent’s Hospice, Midton Road, Howwood PA9 1AF
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
You’re invited to join us at The Hub @ St Vincent’s for a cuppa and cake and share an informal, open, inclusive conversation about death and dying. This isn’t a counselling or therapy group, but just a conversational space where we can talk openly about a subject that’s all too often considered taboo. There is no obligation or pressure for attendees to say anything at all – you can feel free to join us to hear from others.
Remembering and Celebrating Those We Care For
Organised by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Planning Your Care
6th November 2024, 6.30-7.30pm
Online (MS Teams)
This session is for health and social care staff.
Unfortunately this event has now been cancelled. We are looking at ways to reimagine the event in order to create a useful resource for people who wish to remember and celebrate those they have cared for.
For more information please email ggc.HomeFirst@nhs.scot
Mallaig Memories
Organised by Linthouse Housing Association
Wednesday 6th November
Community Flat, 39 Mallaig Road, Linthouse, Glasgow
This event is open to tenants of Linthouse Housing Association.
Thanks to the Absent Friends Small Grant Scheme, Linthouse Housing Association’s older tenants will gather together to commemorate the family, friends and pets that they have loved and lost.
Space to Remember
Organised by The Junction – Young People, Health & Wellbeing’s Creative Express Service
Wednesday, 6th November, 4.30pm – 6.30pm
82-86 Great Junction Street, Edinburgh, EH6 5LL (green door)
This FREE event is for young people aged 12 - 21 years, living in Edinburgh
We will be providing a supportive session where young people can reflect and remember someone who has died. There will be creative activities to engage with and prompt discussions - including materials to make a memory box.
Rodge Glass - “Joshua in the Sky"
Organised by Glasgow Life Libraries
Tuesday 5th November, 6:30pm
Mitchell Library, 201 North Street, Glasgow G3 7DN
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
To Absent Friends Week (1st - 7th November) is an annual Scotland-wide festival of remembrance and story-telling which provides an opportunity to remember, to tell stories, to celebrate and to reminisce about people we love who have died.
Glass Panel Unveiling
Organised by Ardgowan Hospice
5th November
Ardgowan Hospice, Inverclyde
This event is open to the Ardgowan Hospice community.
A local artist has volunteered to paint a themed glass panel that will be unveiled on 5th November.
Eternal Blooms
Organised by the Glendale Women’s Cafe
Tuesday 5th November 10.30am to 12.30pm
Glendale Women’s Cafe, 423 Shields Road, Pollokshields, G41 1NY
This event is open to visitors of the Glendale Women’s Cafe
Pot decorating, bulb planting, tea and chat
Life after Loss: The Late Great Johnny Ace
Organised by AGL & The Alchemists
Tuesday 5th November, 7:30 - 9:30pm
The Voodoo Rooms, 19a West Register Street Edinburgh EH2 2AA
This event is open to the public. It is free but ticketed.
Everyone responds to deep loss in their own way. When Annie lost Johnny – the love of her life – to cancer, she got a band together and began to write & play songs about him, about the life they shared together, and to explore, through music, her experience of grief.
To Absent Friends at HMP Edinburgh
Organised by Marie Curie Edinburgh in collaboration with HMP Edinburgh
Tuesday 5th & Thursday 7th November
HMP Edinburgh
These events are not open to the public.
Marie Curie Edinburgh will be hosting two sessions to give prisoners an opportunity to share stories, remember and talk about people who have died.
Having Conversation That Matter
Organised by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Planning Your Care
5th November 2024, 2-3.30pm
Online (MS Teams)
This event is open to the public.
This is an experiential workshop to give participants an easy way to start thinking about what’s important to them and those around them. This event is open to anyone – a very gentle approach to having those sensitive conversations.
Musical Memories
Organised by Sacred Sanctuary
5th November 2024
Dysart Community Hall, Kinghorn, KY1 2JD
This event is open to the public.
This event will feature a karaoke of remembrance songs, tea/coffee/biscuits, chill out chat, reiki zone, postbox station for people to write letters, candle to light with a memory book, bee-saving seed packs for people to take away and plant in memory, and a tribute wall. We will be remembering teens Jon Leonard, Lisa Hutton, and Joseph Wilcox - their parents will share their stories and invite others to share as well.
North Berwick Sings
Organised by North Berwick Coastal Community Connections
5 November, 11:30am -12:00pm
Abbey Church, North Berwick
This event is open to the public. Please register in advance.
Listen to the choir, led by Anya Bisset, sing a range of uplifting songs celebrating life and remembrance of loved ones.
To Absent Friends Online Remembrance
Organised by Lesley MacCulloch, soul midwife and end-of-life companion
Two sessions on Monday 4 November. There will be one at 1.30pm and one at 6.30pm. They will go for one hour.
Online via Zoom
These sessions are open to the public. Please register in advance.
As part of this week-long Scottish festival I will be holding two online events. I invite you to join me to unite in sacred remembrance of friends, family, and anyone who has touched your heart who is no longer with us in physical body but whose spirits we remember and whose souls live on within us and around us.
Family
Organised by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs
Monday 4 November 2024, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
The Barracks, Stirling, Forthside Way, Stirling, FK8 1QZ
These sessions are open to families receiving support from SFAD
Bereavement through substance use is more complicated because of the nature of the death. When a death is drug-related or alcohol-related it is more challenging for families because of stigma. Families receive stigmatising responses from people rather than understanding and support. This leaves families feeling shamed when they talk about the person who has died which makes grieving more complicated. Isolation is common and bereavement groups and supports are not always suitable for families experiencing loss through substance use. Families tell us that meeting in person makes a huge difference and they want more opportunities to come together. As part of the ‘To Absent Friends’ week, we are holding an event to bring families together. There will be an opportunity to take part in some creative activities, but other than that we want to get together to support one another and remember loved ones.
Dochas Carers Centre Death Cafe
Organised by Dochas Carers Centre
Monday 4 November, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Dochas Centre, Campbell Street, Lochgilphead
This activity is open to the local community.
Dochas is joining the To Absent Friends Festival that takes place across Scotland from 1-7 November 2024. It is an opportunity to remember, to tell stories, to celebrate, and to reminisce about people we love who have died.
Seasons of Change
Organised by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Planning Your Care
4th and 8th November 2024, 12 noon -1.30pm
Online (MS Teams)
This event is open to the public.
This is an informal, contemplative session to help people reflect on loss, grief and bereavement. Everyone is welcome to attend. The session will play on a continuous loop on MS Teams, restarting every 30 minutes between 12pm – 1.30pm on the Monday and Friday day. This is an experiential workshop to give participants an easy way to start thinking about what’s important to them and those around them.
To Absent Friends Afternoon Tea - a remembrance and storytelling event for all
Organised by Creating Converations CIC and Annexe Communities
Monday 4th November 2024. 1.30 - 3.30pm
The Annexe, 9 Stewartville St, Partick, G11 5PE
This event is open to the public.
This event will be a safe space for all members of the local community to share their memories and stories of loved ones who have died. Attendees are encouraged and welcome to bring small items or photos that remind them of their loved ones to talk about or if they wish they can make the first page of a memory scrapbook. The event will also have a memory tree where attendees will be invited to add their memories or even the names of the loved ones they wish to remember. There will also be Afternoon Tea cakes, tea and coffee. Everyone is welcome and no booking is required.
Remembrance Lunch
Organised by Kinghorn Community Centre
Monday 4th November, 12.30 pm -2.30 pm
Rossland Place, Kinghorn, KY3 9SS
This event is open to the public.
This remembrance lunch is an opportunity to meet and remember absent friends, to tell stories, share photographs, to celebrate and reminisce about people from Kinghorn we miss.
Join us for a plate of soup, a cake and a cuppa while we chat.
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