Focussing on not feeling sad

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.....

School kids and film-makers

The hospice placement is about so much more than just the music, and yesterday provided another great example of that. I had arranged for a group of school pupils to come along, this time from Wallace High School in Stirling, to perform for the Day Care patients. And they were just brilliant!

Lewis, Ruth, Anna (the teacher!), Louise and Samira

Not only were they brilliant on their respective instruments – the xylophone, guitar, piano and oboe – but they, and their lovely teacher, were also brilliant with the patients. After they’d finished performing, they wandered around the room, chatting to the patients and playing some more tunes – but this time on a much more personal level. I think the patients – and staff – enjoyed the chit-chat just as much as they enjoyed the music. And the pupils certainly seemed to think it was a great way to spend a Wednesday afternoon! I think these wee photos kind of sum it up:


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Louise and a happy chat!



Lewis and a happy hug!

The hospice has the services of an Arts Council funded ‘Film-maker in Residence’ at the moment and Amy Hardie and her team happened to be filming in Day Care yesterday. There are several aspects to Amy’s remit at the hospice. One is to make a documentary about Strathcarron, but another is to facilitate more personal film-making. I think one of the most valuable skills that Amy has to offer is in teaching people – either patients or family members – how best to use a camera to create something that could become a really important keepsake in the years ahead. Bearing in mind that many of Strathcarron’s patients are cared for in the community, and that many of the patients do go home after a short spell in the hospice, the film-making project can have far-reaching benefits, especially for some of the patients’ children. Anyway, I’m digressing! On with yesterday’s story, when Amy and her team were filming footage, I think, for the documentary.

Now, as regular readers will know, my film-making skills are limited; a wee video taken using my phone is about as professional as it gets on this blog! I had a nerve-wracking time at the hospice recently when, in Amy’s absence, I was asked to film a wedding – but that’s something I’d like to write about another time. I only mention it to preface the fact that I’m definitely no professional when it comes to filming! So, it was an interesting experience to watch the professionals at work yesterday. Although I didn’t take my phone out to record the pupils while they were performing (I’m hoping to blag some snippets of that from Amy!), I did want to capture some of the special wee moments that followed their ‘official’ performance. So, sitting opposite 12 year old Lewis as he entertained some of the men in the hospice with his banter and oboe playing, I hit the ‘record’ button to capture the moment. However, as this little bit of footage shows, it seems that amateur capturing of moments don’t count in the professionals books! It was all great fun, and really added to the pupils’ experience – showing yet another wee group of youngsters that their local hospice is very much a bright and cheery place and, more importantly, full of bright and cheery people.