Raising confidence, a fair few smiles and some much-needed cash

I’ve been itching to write a blog post every night for this past week, but just haven’t had the time. And now that I’ve found the time, there’s too much to include in one post! So, I’m not even going to attempt to cram it all in. Here are just a couple of highlights:

Last Wednesday one of my friends from choir, Paul McKeever, came into the hospice to play guitar with a patient. This particular patient’s been both an in-patient and Day Care attendee for several years. He’s found, in recent years, that learning how to play the guitar helps to take his mind off other things but he’s really lacking in confidence. So, I figured he’d enjoy having someone with a bit of patience, a big friendly smile and a mutual love of guitar-playing to come in to the hospice and ‘jam’ with him – and Paul was absolutely perfect for the job! The staff said to me later that they’d never seen the patient so ‘energised’ and animated. A little bit of music and a big heart goes a long way. Thank you Paul!

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Paul making a patient's day

Last Friday, at last, was the night of the Strathcarron fundraising event I’ve been organising and I’m delighted to report that 'Music from the Heart for Strathcarron' was a resounding success! The evening was all about raising awareness, raising cash, raising a smile and raising the roof! 

Raising Awareness:  This is the wee video that I used to kick off the evening. Annie, my incredibly talented Choir leader, sat under the projector screen and played piano while the video rolled above her. She was simply awesome, and a fair few tears were shed through the smiles in the hall:

Raising Cash: I’d hoped to raise around £2000 for the hospice, but I’d been a bit wary about setting myself a target; just in case I was disappointed! However, I needn’t have worried as the final total came to over £3000! I was absolutely delighted, and I’m extremely grateful to everyone who contributed; either by giving up their free time to perform, or by buying a raffle ticket, or by coming along on the night, or by taking part in the tombola, or by giving me moral support and encouragement or...ocht, there are too many things to mention (let alone thanking all the individual people who helped out!) I just feel very lucky and very privileged to have had the overwhelming support that I had.

Raising a Smile: 130 people bought tickets and came along to The Golden Lion Hotel, so the hall was practically full. I was so moved by some of their lovely, warm comments and I was delighted that they all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. I saw loads of smiles on Friday night, but mine was probably the biggest.

Raising the Roof!  A whole host of fantastic musicians and singers helped to do just that. First, we had superb buskers - Paul and Drew - at the entrance to the hotel as guests were arriving (the very same Paul who came into the hospice last week – thank you Paul!) Then, there was Cara and Eoin, entertaining the guests as they arrived in the ballroom with their beautiful folk music. Then there was Annie playing piano to accompany the video. Gorgeous. Then Annie moved her piano to the other side of the hall in preparation for the Heart of Scotland Choir. Aw man, I can’t tell you how much I loved singing with the choir at my own fundraising event. I was so chuffed that so many members came along to support the night and it’ll go down as one of my very favourite choir gigs. Here’s my son Gordon doing his thing:

There was the small matter of me singing my first solo part too (I don’t think I’ve felt that nervous since I sat my driving test...), which made the whole thing even more memorable for me personally. Following on from the choir came Gordon’s band ‘A Turtle Called Shelly’. They were fantastic! I felt quite guilty as I’d not expected them to be quite so good! I think it was when Gordon told me that his pal Martin would be playing the melodica that the doubts started to seep in! I was actually immensely proud of all three of my kids on Friday night. They all helped me in so many different ways, both during the event and during the weeks leading up to it. Ross was the perfect host, chatting to folk as they tried their hand at the tombola (pick out ‘The Beatles’ or ‘Queen’ and you win a prize, pick out ‘Justin Bieber’ and you win nothing!). And Gemma, well, her turning up completely unexpectedly to surprise me (she had a Uni exam the next day and we’d agreed that her studies had to come first..) was one of the many highlights of my night. As for Alex, well, I simply wouldn’t have been able to do it all without him. I’m so very lucky.

Completing the live music line-up was the fabulous GT’s Boos Band. Their front man and absolutely brilliant vocalist Greig is a popular member of our choir and, together with John Boos (the amazing guitarist who came in and played for a patient not long after I’d started my placement), Iain Donald (an AMAZING bass player) and the talented Simon Pooley (better known as Cymbal Simon) on drums, they produce a sound that is '100% Bona Fide Rock and Roll!'

A couple of my friends from choir, Paula and Carrie, also joined the Boos Band as guests to sing a few more fantastic songs - and that was the line-up complete. It was such an honour to have so many super-talented musicians and singers perform at my fundraiser for Strathcarron - there certainly was no shortage of Music performed straight from the Heart!

So, the night was a resounding success, and I've now got some free time back on my hands. Hmm, let's think now.......

Rewarding and feel-good moments

I was full of good intentions of publishing a post on this blog every week during my placement at Strathcarron. Oops.

Being busy is my only excuse and I’m delighted to report that things are still going really well; music is definitely making a difference! Here’s just one of many examples: A patient’s partner said to me last week, “As I was walking towards the room, I thought I could hear singing. ‘He must have his music on’, I thought. As I got closer, I realised that he did indeed have his music on; playing through the wee speaker you gave him. But that wasn’t the only thing I could hear. It was him. Singing. I’ve not heard him sing for such a long time. I can’t even begin to tell you how good it made me feel.”
It was another example of the far-reaching benefits that go hand-in-hand with making music part of the patients’ lives in the hospice; this particular patient had really enjoyed spending time making up their playlist and chatting with me about some of the music that’s meaningful to them. But his partner had also benefitted by taking some comfort from the fact that her loved-one’s spirits had been lifted enough to sing along to those favourite songs. It might sound like a simple thing, but it was one of many such rewarding moments.

The fifteen hours per week I’m allocated for my placement simply isn’t enough to fit everything in, so I’m doing all of the fundraising part of the project in my own time. It’s now less than two weeks till my ‘Music from the Heart for Strathcarron’ fundraising night and I’m really enjoying pulling it all together. If I’m totally honest though, I’m getting quite nervous about it too; what if something goes wrong on the night, what if people don’t turn up, what if the people that do turn up don’t enjoy themselves etc etc! However, as soon as I start to think like that, I give myself a good shake and go write another begging letter for a raffle prize, or post another request on Facebook for friends to please buy tickets for the night! And, while I’m doing that, I remind myself that if it all went wrong, it would certainly be disappointing but, in comparison to the challenges that face the lovely patients that I have the absolute privilege of getting to know at the hospice, it really wouldn’t be that big a deal.

I’m obviously extremely hopeful that nothing will go wrong and that it’ll be a great night! I’m chuffed to bits that so many fantastic singers and musicians are giving up their Friday evening to come and perform; some of my friends are going to ‘busk’ for the guests as they arrive at the hotel, one of my choir friends and her partner are going to provide the background music as the guests arrive in the function suite and my choir leader – who’s also an incredibly talented pianist – is going to play a lovely classical piece while a short DVD (which I’ve yet to put together – eek!) introduces the guests to the hospice and the project. The evening’s proceedings will then really get going when the fantastic Heart of Scotland Choir take to the (very small!) stage at 8pm. Here's a wee sample of what's in store:



Following on from the choir, I’m giving a young, new band the opportunity to play for a little while (and it just so happens that my son’s the lead singer..!) and then the ‘headline’ act will take over proceedings for the rest of the evening. GT’s Boos Band has an ever-growing fan base in Scotland and I’m delighted that they’re providing most of the music for my night (with the added bonus of a few special guests). Here’s another wee taste of what’s in store:



In amongst all of that, a buffet will be laid out and a raffle will be drawn. I’m so grateful to the local businesses and friends who’ve donated prizes – from bottles of wine to a week’s holiday in a 3 bedroom luxury lodge – every single one of the donations has been extremely gratefully received. I’m still on the hunt for more prizes as I’ve decided to split them up into the main raffle and a sort of ‘lucky dip’. The main raffle draw will include the big prizes and the lucky dip – which can be set-up sort of like a tombola stall – will include the smaller gifts. That’s the plan at the moment anyway! So, if you’re reading this and you live within travelling distance of Stirling, and you’re at a loose end on Friday the 18th of May, why don’t you come along to The Golden Lion Hotel for what promises to be a great night of live music – with a wee buffet, a bar, great raffle prizes and a dance floor all thrown in for good measure. And, simply by buying a ticket and coming along, you’ll be supporting a fantastic charity that supports so many people in its local community. If you’d like more information, here’s the link to the public event page. I’d love to see you there as, hopefully, it'll be an evening full of feel-good moments.