My blog posts have been sparse recently; not because there’s
been a shortage of things that have made me feel good, but because it’s been a really
busy time. This probably isn’t the best time to catch up; I’ve had a few beers
and I don’t really know where to start! Aw man, so many things have filled the
last few weeks that have filled me with all sorts of emotions.
I’m thinking I should be telling you about the special
extended celebrations we had to celebrate Gemma’s twenty first birthday (which
included a brilliant night at the Eilidh Brown Memorial Fund Concert, a meal at
Champneys and a lovely family get-together) – what a special few days they were
for our special wee girl; or should I be focussing on our choir gig at the
wonderful Scribbler’s Picnic – another cracking event that supports lots of
cancer charities; and I should definitely talk about how very proud I was of
Gordon being awarded Head Boy of Stirling High School; or maybe I should concentrate
on recording our trip down to London last weekend to help Gemma move into her
accommodation (or, more accurately, her cubby hole...) before she started her summer
internship; and I should include our West End theatre trip to see the fantastic
Billy Elliot; and I should definitely
record how proud I am of Alex, having just secured some really exciting work
that involves him working over in Sweden for a couple of weeks (up until now,
after nearly 25 years in business, Campbeltown’s the furthest afield that Impressions
in Stone has travelled!); or it might be best just to stick to more of what’s
been going on at the hospice and talk about my very mixed feelings on this very
last day of my placement. Ocht, there go the waterworks again – but through a
big smile!
Hm, there’s just too much to say. And the boys are shouting
at me to hurry up and finish writing so’s we can get along to the pub for a
celebratory dinner and a few more beers. I’m wishing Gemma was here to join in – I miss
her already - but I’m so happy and excited for her being down in the big smoke
again; I’m sad to be finished my placement, but happy and excited about what I’ve
achieved and what lies ahead; I’m feeling very proud of my wee family and all
their bits and pieces; and I’m feeling very hungry.
It makes me feel sad when I say out loud that I only have four more days of my placement left at Strathcarron so, instead of saying that, I’ll focus on some of the great things that have been going on over the course of this past week or so!
Following a previous successful visit from pupils from Wallace High School, the music teacher was more than happy to bring another small group of pupils along to the hospice. This time, they were given a tour of the Strathcarron by one of the lovely Day Care nurses and it was truly heart-warming to hear the kids chatter animatedly on their return about how ‘cool’ the hospice was! Just as their peers had done a few weeks ago, these talented young musicians and singers then went on to entertain and wow the patients – not only with their musical prowess, but also with their impeccable behaviour, beaming smiles and amiable banter! I have a few snippets of them on video, but I'm waiting on permission from a patient - who has a starring role - before I post it; watch this space!!
It’s understandable when school pupils are a little nervous about coming along to the hospice; unless they’ve had some previous experience of visiting Strathcarron, they just don’t know what to expect. Even with good preparation beforehand, until they’ve actually been in to see the hospice for themselves, and met the staff and patients, they’re likely to feel a little bit apprehensive. However, coming along with a group of pals from school somehow makes the task in hand a little less daunting!
So, it would have been totally understandable if 14 year old Laura Carson had been a tad nervous about coming along - on her own - to play guitar and sing for the patients. Unlike the other youngsters who’ve performed on their own during my placement, Laura had no previous experience of Strathcarron until she visited last Thursday. She doesn’t have a relative who works in Strathcarron and none of her relatives have been patients in the hospice. However, after hearing all about the music project from her mum (who’s a friend of mine from the Heart of Scotland Choir) Laura asked if she could come along and do something to help. I was so impressed by this lovely young lady’s attitude and her fantastic performance for a very appreciative group of Thursday Day Care patients:
Speaking of lovely young ladies, I’ve also enjoyed seeing my own daughter, Gemma, volunteering at Strathcarron recently. She only managed to fit in a few shifts between the end of term at University and the start of her summer internship, but I’m proud that she’s helped keep up our family tradition of helping out at the hospice! (My mum’s been a volunteer on the ward reception for around 13 years and my uncle volunteers as a Bereavement Support worker.)
Another thing that I’ve enjoyed doing over these past few weeks is spending some more of the money that I’ve raised to buy equipment for the hospice. The list so far includes: 19 Sony Walkman MP3 players; lots of wires, plugs, chargers and other mundane – but essential – accessories; storage containers; 16 sets of speakers; a docking station and speaker set (for Day Care); a projector with a built-in DVD player; a portable projector screen; a laptop/projector trolley and shelf; a fund for music downloads and 3 Toshiba laptop computers. There were various other things that I’d hoped to donate to the hospice, and it’s been one of my placement disappointments that they didn’t happen. One of the ideas that just didn’t work out, for various reasons, was a camera system for broadcasting and recording performances, and for ‘bringing the wildlife in’ to the hospice. Unfortunately, a package of enthusiasm, passion and funding isn’t always enough to take some proposals forward in an organisation like the hospice; there are many other things, such as practicalities and other complex issues, which have to be taken into account. I am, however, delighted with everything that has been bought for the hospice , thanks to the many, many people who made a donation to my fundraising efforts; either by buying a quiz sheet, or by coming along to my ‘Music from the Heart for Strathcarron’ night or by making a general donation to my Just Giving page. My heart-felt thanks goes to you all.
I’ve not spent as much time with patients as I’d have liked over this past wee while as I’ve been busy putting plans in place to make sure that music remains a regular part of the day-to-day scene at Strathcarron. I’m delighted to have found a young lad who’s offered to help out on a regular basis and I’m meeting soon with another young volunteer whom I’m hoping will take on some of the work too. Some of the ward reception volunteers will soon also be helping out; I’m hoping that keeping basic music therapy going at the hospice can become an integral part of these volunteers' normal duties, when time allows.
I've also been spending a wee bit of time preparing for a presentation I've to deliver next week. This placement has been such an incredible experience for me, and I'm chuffed - and passionate - about everything I've done. However, I'm also extremely nervous about standing up and presenting an overview of my project to staff members, but that's exactly what I'll be doing in the hospice next Tuesday. I'm trying to think about it logically; if I managed to overcome my nerves to stand up and sing my first wee solo part with the Heart of Scotland Choir in the middle of my fundraising night, then surely I can stand up and deliver a short presentation to a bunch of lovely staff members - many of whom have become my friends over this past four months?! Surely!
Though, as the following hand-wringing clip shows, I really was extremely nervous when I sang my first solo - the opening verse of 'Wild Horses' - with the choir at 'Music from the Heart for Strathcarron'. And I only had to sing on my own for about one minute...help! I think there'll be much hand-wringing going on next Tuesday.....
I’m grateful to the Vodafone Foundation for giving me the opportunity to work at Strathcarron Hospice; mainly because of the help with funding, but also because of the opportunity to help raise awareness. Every charity needs to keep itself in the public eye as much as possible, and Strathcarron is no different.
The hospice must raise over £65,000 every week to continue providing free palliative care to its community. I’ve, therefore, tried hard to do my wee bit to help raise awareness of the fantastic job that Strathcarron does for its patients and their families. I’ve also been keen to raise awareness of my project and how beneficial music can be – on so many different levels – to people with life-limiting illnesses. So, I was delighted when the World of Difference site ran this wee feature last week: http://worldofdifference.vodafone.co.uk/news/archives/12379.
Every little bit of awareness raised helps – so many thanks are due, once again, to the fantastic World of Difference initiative and the helping hand it’s offered in helping me to raise awareness of such a special place.
I’ve not been feeling well over the past few days with a bit
of an upset tummy, so it was with a definite lack of enthusiasm that I headed off
to Falkirk Football Stadium earlier - with Gemma, Gordon and Gordon's wee pal - to see Elton John in concert. But, I’m so
glad that I managed to make it along! I actually wasn’t looking forward to it, whether I’d been
ill or not, as I’d heard really negative things about his performance at the
recent Diamond Jubilee concert in London. A fair few
folk had mentioned that Elton had been pretty rubbish, hitting a fair few bum
notes, and it seemed to be the consensus of opinion that he was well past his
sell-by date! Well, that definitely wasn’t the case tonight in Falkirk.
I loved that he was
playing in Falkirk Football Club's Stadium. Not Edinburgh’s Murrayfield, or Glasgow’s Hampden,
but Falkirk’s, em, Falkirk. Some unkind souls had said it was because he wouldn’t
be able to fill Murrayfield or Hampden, but I like to think it was just because
Elton wanted to give Central Scotland a turn for a wee change!
There was no big light show, or dazzling special effects, or
dancers, or fireworks, or guys on stilts – just, in my opinion, a brilliant
singer/musician/songwriter and his fantastic backing band playing brilliant music for two and a
half solid hours. The lively, spirited and most
appreciative Central Scotland crowd were thoroughly entertained by thoroughly good musicianship alone. I
loved that all the razzle and dazzle and flamboyance and nonsense that Elton John's famous for were
nowhere to be seen. He was just a musician whose performance seemed to come straight from
the heart and who seemed genuinely humbled and happy to be there. He couldn’t
have been more appreciative of the crowd and I loved that. And, as far as I
could hear, there wasn’t one single bum note hit. True, he can’t hit some of
the high notes in his old age – but he didn’t bother trying. Songs were
slightly adjusted accordingly, and the crowd happily obliged with the ‘Laaaaa,
la, la, la, la, la’ bit in Crocodile Rock! Me and Gemma were singing and dancing in the aisles - yup, Elton definitely made us feel great tonight!
Yes, it is June; yes, it was baltic; no, it didn't stop us having a blast with Elton!
It’s such a privilege to see so many of the patients reaping the benefits of the whole ‘personal playlist’ thing at the hospice. This past week has been particularly rewarding as I’ve been working with two patients, who have varying degrees of cognitive difficulties, with some really positive results. It's incredible to witness even the slightest breakthrough with a patient who's finding it difficult to communicate. I think it’s worth mentioning here, again, that I’m not a trained or professional music therapist. I’m simply using my basic listening skills along with an understanding of how therapeutic music - even at its most basic level (such as listening to a favourite song) - can be. It’s definitely the aspect of the project that I’ve enjoyed the most; spending time with patients then using music to make a difference to their day.
It’s an added bonus when that music is sung or played live. A few weeks ago I invited Lauren McKinnon along to sing for the patients. Lauren - whose mum, April, is a Complementary Therapist at the hospice - is 15 years old and would normally be at school on a Tuesday afternoon. However, thanks to the Diamond Jubilee holiday, she spent her afternoon blowing us all away at the hospice with her incredible voice instead! Lauren came along first to sing for the patients in Day Care, then was happy to hang around till later to sing on the ward. As you'll see, my videoing skills haven’t improved much while I’ve been on my placement, but here’s a wee snippet of Lauren doing her thing anyway. I cannot get away with the fact that this voice is coming from a fifteen year old, and a lovely one at that!:
In the ward, Lauren stood in one of the open spaces so that her voice could be heard through all of the rooms. During her repertoire, I walked round the beds to make sure that everyone could hear OK. The patients were all so appreciative and were thoroughly enjoying every moment of this talented young lady’s performance. One person in particular, one of the patients I mentioned earlier who has cognitive difficulties and who has truly been reaping the benefits of using the MP3 player, motioned for me to sit with her while Lauren sang. I knelt down beside her, laid down the video camera and took hold of her hand. I didn’t realise until later that the video camera was still recording. I’m afraid you can’t see Lauren in the clip but I felt it was worth sharing with you; the song reduced both me and my lovely patient to tears! It’s simply beautiful. So, close your eyes and enjoy - just as many people did at Strathcarron last Tuesday - this awesome performance by Lauren:
I think I’ve mentioned more than a few times on my wee blog how much I love that my family are involved in the sport of running. I miss running myself, but I love that I can still be part of the scene in a more sedate supporting role!
This weekend was a case in point. While some of our friends from Central AC were ensconced (and doing extremely well) in the Scottish National Championships in Glasgow, the Milne boys were competing in the more laid-back events of the Gargunnock Hill Race, the Balmoral Half Marathon and the St Andrews Chariots of Fire 5k Beach Race! And the Milne girls were providing the vitally important ‘cheering on’ support! Here’s how our weekend panned out:
1. Gemma, Ross and I left home in the early evening of Friday to head up to the Spittal of Glenshee Hotel. We couldn’t have picked a nicer night for the drive up north; how lucky are we to live in Scotland?! The hotel was really busy and we’d obviously been given the last two ‘we only give out these rooms when the hotels fit to bursting’ rooms. Skanky with no hot water, but it didn’t really matter. Cheap and cheerful was all we needed and the entertaining goings-on of the hapless staff more than made up for any shortcomings with the rooms!
2. The three of us left on Saturday morning (after almost breaking a tooth on the bacon..) to drive to Balmoral. More beautiful scenery to admire and enjoy; how lucky are we to live in Scotland?!
3. In the meantime, while we were on the road to Balmoral, Alex was running up and around the Gargunnock Hills setting up the course for the Gargunnock Hill Race. Rucksack on his back, big bag of signs, tape, mallet and pegs in his hand. My hero.
4. The three of us spent most of the day in the beautiful grounds of Balmoral. Ross ran in the SJP Balmoral Half Marathon and came in 2nd. He didn’t retain the title he won last year, but thoroughly enjoyed the event all the same. Gemma and I thoroughly enjoyed the local butcher’s barbequed burgers and cheering the runners in.
5. Alex and Gordon, meantime, took part in the 5th Gargunnock Hill Race. This is an event close to our hearts as it’s run in memory of a dear friend, David Hay. Alex came in 3rd and Gordon had a great run too, winning a bet with his former boss and picking up all the tips from the local pub as his just reward.
6. We left Balmoral to drive to St Andrews for a night in Gemma’s student flat.
7. Alex, in the meantime, left Stirling on board a train to Dundee. If things had gone to plan, he would’ve arrived in Dundee in time to catch the train to Leuchars. We would’ve collected him from Leuchars before heading off for dinner in St Andrews. Unfortunately, his train hit a cow. Fortunately, no-one on the train was injured. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the cow...
8. We collected Alex from the train station in Dundee before heading off, late, for dinner in St Andrews.
9. Gordon stayed at home and enjoyed an 'empty' with his pals. I can’t report too much on how that went as 'what happens in the empty stays in the empty'. Suffice to say that the house was in one piece when we arrived home and, so far, I’ve received no complaints from the neighbours...
10. On Sunday Alex and Ross competed in the St Andrews Chariots of Fire 5k Beach Race. Ross came in 3rd and Alex followed on in 5th. They were first and second last year, but they thoroughly enjoyed the event and the atmosphere all the same. Gemma and I thoroughly enjoyed cheering them, and some of our friends from Central AC, on.
It was absolutely baltic on St Andrews beach so the post-race BBQ was abandoned in favour of an earlier journey home.
11. We arrived home. Absolutely knackered after our mini tour of Scotland, but feeling very very good!
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the end of my placement at the hospice. One month to go. Booo! So, as well as continuing with – and building on – everything that I’ve put into place over this past three months, I’ll be using some of my remaining time to ensure that patients continue to benefit from music in Strathcarron long after my Vodafone Foundation placement ends.
I’m meeting with a volunteer soon who’s interested in taking over the ‘bringing live music’ into the hospice side of things, and I’m hoping we can work together over the coming weeks, before she takes over the role completely. I’m not looking forward to handing over ‘my baby’, but that was always part of the plan and I’m sure the volunteer will be just as enthusiastic and excited about using local musicians and singers to make a difference as I am!
I definitely intend carrying on with some of the project work myself – but I definitely can’t afford to keep putting in anything like the hours per week that I’ve been dedicating over this past few months! Just like most of the World of Difference placement winners, I’ve worked way more than the 15 hours per week expected of me. So, I’m trying to figure out exactly how many hours I can afford to continue to give as a volunteer, and how much additional help will be required.
I’ve been touched by some of the comments made by staff recently during discussions about the fact that my placement sponsorship is coming to an end. Not only were they complimentary about the work I’ve been doing and the difference it’s made to patients and their families – but also about the difference it’s made to their working day. It’s been suggested that I should think about seeking out the necessary funding to allow me to carry on doing what I’ve been doing for a while longer, as opposed to setting the role up for a few volunteers. “It’s not just the music and the performances and the MP3 players that are making a difference, it’s you. Your personality and enthusiasm’s what we want to hold on to!” I was deeply touched by this comment made by one of the nurses and I felt, as I often do at Strathcarron, truly valued. There’s nothing I would love more than to keep on doing what I’m doing and I’m seriously considering seeking out some other source of funding for it (only if the hospice management support the idea of course!)
In the meantime, I’ll continue to feel incredibly lucky to be part of the Strathcarron team, and I’ll keep on treasuring the moments that I spend with some very special people. One of those special people sadly died earlier this week, but he’d managed to hold on long enough to hear a very special piece of music that was written by his grandson and played especially for him on the radio last weekend. I’ll never forget the twinkle in his eyes as he talked about it during our last conversation together.
And, if you click on ‘A very special tune’ below, you’ll hear a recording of that piece of music that meant such a lot to one very proud grandfather…
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